WASHINGTON - The U.S. DOGE service is racing ahead to build a single, centralized database with vast amounts of personal information on millions of U.S. citizens and residents, a campaign that often violates or disregards basic privacy and security protections meant to safeguard that information, government officials say.

According to several federal employees and a former DOGE worker who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, a team overseen by Elon Musk collects data from across the government, sometimes at the urging of low-level aides. The intensifying effort to consolidate systems into one central hub is intended to support a number of Trump administration priorities, including tracking down and deporting undocumented immigrants and rooting out fraud in government payments. And it follows a March executive order to eliminate "information silos" as DOGE seeks to streamline operations and cut costs.

At several agencies, DOGE officials were trying to merge databases that had long been kept separate, federal officials said. For example, longtime Musk deputy Steve Davis told Social Security Administration employees that they will soon begin linking different sources of Social Security data for access and analysis, according to a person briefed on the conversations, with the goal of "bringing all the data together across the government." Davis did not respond to a request for comment.

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