Scoop: Democrats want to make DOGE answerable to Congress

• Democrats have faced upheaval from their base in recent weeks, with many grassroots activists accusing lawmakers of not doing enough to take on President Trump and Elon Musk.
• The party has responded with a flurry of letters, press conferences, protests outside of federal agencies, delay tactics, blocked nominations and even disruptions at Trump's speech to Congress last month.

Driving the news: The "DOGE Accountability and Transparency Act," introduced by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), would require DOGE to submit an impact report to Congress every week.

• The report would need to detail the legal basis for all of DOGE's actions as well as an accounting of all firings, budget cuts, policy changes, physical alterations to federal buildings or relocations, and data accessed by the department's staff.
• That would begin with a report no later than one week after the bill passed covering all of DOGE's actions since Trump's inauguration, according to a copy of the 5-page bill first shared with Axios.

What they're saying: "We should not allow Elon Musk to recklessly take a chainsaw to our federal government; he must answer to Congress and provide real, regular updates on DOGE's actions," Schneider said in a statement.

• Said Lynch: "We cannot let President Trump's version of 'Wreck-it-Ralph' distract us while Elon Musk continues to gut agencies that are responsible for providing American families with essential needs and services."