GAO to review changes at SEC driven by Musk, White House

The Government Accountability Office will review changes at the SEC driven by Elon Musk’s "department of government efficiency" and the White House, according to a letter the agency sent to two Democratic senators.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Mark Warner, D-Va., originally requested in a March 28 letter that the GAO conduct a review of the securities regulator’s recent actions, including those led by the White House and DOGE “to cut staff, terminate contracts and leases, and consolidate SEC functions.”

The GAO accepted that request “as work that is within the scope of its authority” in an April 8 letter sent to the lawmakers and obtained by Pensions & Investments. Reuters first reported on the letter April 14.

“The first thing GAO does as any work begins is to determine the full scope of what we will cover and the methodology to be used,” a GAO spokesperson said in an emailed statement, confirming that the agency has accepted the request. “Until that is complete, we cannot provide any additional information or estimates on a completion date.”

Musk’s "department of government efficiency" has targeted federal agencies with a series of cost-cutting initiatives, including staff reductions and more.

At the SEC, about 500 employees, representing around 10% of the agency’s workforce, accepted a $50,000 incentive to resign or retire by April 4, according to Bloomberg. The move, combined with others initiated by the Trump administration, has some experts worried that the SEC could see a significant impact to its power, capabilities and independence.

The SEC also informed staff in a March email that the General Services Administration, which oversees government workplace buildings, planned to terminate leases for the agency’s Los Angeles and Philadelphia offices, according to reporting from Reuters.

"I welcome the GAO’s decision to examine whether recent cuts at the SEC — driven by the White House and Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency — are compromising the agency’s ability to do its job,” Sen. Warner said in an emailed statement. “The SEC plays a critical role in protecting investors and maintaining fair, orderly markets and we must not allow ultra-wealthy billionaires like Elon Musk to undermine the safeguards that millions of everyday Americans rely on for a stable financial system."