Top House Democrat asks Microsoft about DOGE code allegedly tied to NLRB data removal

NPR

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is asking Microsoft to share information about a Department of Government Efficiency staffer's account on a Microsoft-owned website that allegedly hosted what the lawmaker called "bespoke code" designed to remove data from a sensitive case management database used by the National Labor Relations Board.

In a letter first shared with NPR and addressed to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., the acting ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, cites reporting from NPR and a whistleblower disclosure about DOGE's activities in his request for records "as part of Committee Democrats' ongoing work to prevent the theft of government data for private purposes."

"The whistleblower has also explained how the responsible individuals [affiliated with DOGE] have attempted to conceal their activities, obstruct oversight, and shield themselves from accountability, including by deleting system logs and opening back doors into the NLRB case management system to send massive amounts of data outside of the agency," Lynch wrote. "Potentially in connection with these efforts, a DOGE engineer reportedly wrote bespoke code that appears designed to remove data from NLRB and saved that code to a repository on Microsoft's GitHub platform. Given Microsoft's ownership of GitHub, I request information and documents in Microsoft's possession regarding this incident."

The request is the latest step in efforts by government watchdogs and House Democrats to investigate the explosive disclosure made by NLRB whistleblower Daniel Berulis and exclusive reporting from NPR that found about 10 gigabytes of data left the agency's NxGen case management system before a similar large spike in outbound traffic left the network itself.

Annotation by NPR

Berulis noticed a project on DOGE staffer Jordan Wick's GitHub account titled "NxGenBdoorExtract" that was made private before he could investigate further. NPR was not able to recover the code for the repository, but several cybersecurity experts who reviewed Berulis' conclusions said the name suggests Wick could have been designing a backdoor into the system.

Wick did not respond to NPR's prior requests for comment. Just one day after NPR reported on the whistleblower disclosure and allegations, DOGE also assigned two staffers to the NLRB to work "part-time for several months."

House Oversight Democrats, who do not have subpoena power without approval of the Republican majority, have also asked watchdogs for the NLRB and Labor Department to investigate the whistleblower filing. More than 50 House Democrats in the Congressional Labor Caucus also signed a letter asking the NLRB for more information about DOGE's activities at the independent agency, which investigates and adjudicates complaints about unfair labor practices and protects U.S. workers' rights to form unions.

"These revelations from the whistleblower report are highly concerning for a number of reasons," the lawmakers wrote in the letter to acting NLRB general counsel William Cowen. "If true, these revelations describe a reckless approach to the handling of sensitive personal information of workers, which could leave these workers exposed to retaliation for engaging in legally protected union activity."Last month, the NLRB inspector general's office launched an inquiry into the claims.