(Bloomberg) - A member of Elon Musk’s government efficiency team asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to grant read and write access to some agency data, according to people familiar with the matter.
The data access requested by Eliezer Mishory, who is leading the DOGE team at the SEC, includes staff emails, personnel data, contracts, and payments systems, the people said, speaking under the condition of anonymity.
The SEC, currently led by Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda, pushed back on the request, according to the people. It is unclear whether the DOGE team has been granted access to any of the data or why it sought those records.
As the country’s lead securities regulator, the SEC maintains a vast repository of sensitive information on ongoing investigations, whistleblower identities, real-time trading records and documents about market participants’ strategies.
“The SEC is working with DOGE to find cost efficiencies and ensure public funds are being used as effectively as possible,” a spokesperson for the SEC said in an emailed statement. Mishory didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The SEC has already made moves to streamline operations, including reorganizing 10 regional offices under broader geographic areas and decreasing the number of people reporting directly to the agency’s enforcement director. And at least 500 staffers, or 10% of its workforce, have accepted the government-wide buyout and deferred-resignation offers.
Paul Atkins, a sought-after Washington consultant and a former agency commissioner, has been confirmed as SEC chair by the US Senate but has yet to be sworn-in. During his confirmation hearing, Atkins said he was willing to work with DOGE on “creating efficiencies in the agency.”
The SEC charged DOGE’s leader, Musk, in January with failing to properly disclose his acquisition of Twitter shares.
Mishory has represented the government efficiency group at the agency since his arrival earlier this month. He previously worked as a top attorney at Kalshi Inc., the prediction market overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
(Adds SEC statement and background on previous cuts starting in the fifth paragraph.)
By Lydia Beyoud and Anthony Cormier
