US House Democratic leader introduces Taxpayer Data Protection Act

​​​​​​​WASHINGTON

US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act to protect the confidential information of Americans.

"House Republicans don't appear interested in working for everyday Americans,” Jeffries told reporters. “Why? Because they are working for Elon Musk and doing the bidding for an unelected, unaccountable, out-of-control billionaire puppet master."

The Democratic leader asked why Musk and his "minions" need access to the names, social security numbers, addresses, birth dates and bank account information of millions of Americans.

"Why does he need that information? What are they doing with it? And why aren't House Republicans stopping them?" he asked.

"That is why we are introducing the Taxpayer Data Protection Act to shield the American people from this out-of-control power grab permanently, and to make sure that the financial, personal, medical and confidential information of the American people is protected."

Democratic lawmakers demanded answers Wednesday from the Trump administration about concerns that unvetted staff from the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Musk, have been granted access to classified materials and sensitive government data.

Reports indicate that the Treasury Department granted the tech-billionaire and his team access to the federal payment system, which manages trillions of dollars in government expenditures and contains the personal financial data of millions of Americans.