Elon Musk said on Monday that his team from the Government Ministry of Effectiveness (DOGE) discovered that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had sent $ 59 million last week to luxury hotels in New York to host “Illegal migrants”.
Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter), alleging that the use by FEMA of funds violated the law, declaring that money was intended for help in the event of a disaster, but was rather spent for high accommodation range. He also announced that a request would be made to recover the funds.
THE @DOGE The team has just discovered that FEMA sent $ 59 million last week to luxury hotels in New York to host illegal migrants.
The sending of this money violated the law and is in raw insubordination to the president’s decree.
This money is intended for American relief in the event of a disaster …
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2025
This revelation comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive decree to establish a council to review FEMA, expressing concerns about political prejudices within the agency.
The interior security secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on the “Union State” of CNN that the Musk Doge team had access to data from her department as part of an audit that she supports fully. Noem explained that President Trump authorized the Musk team to access the Network of the Department of Internal Security (DHS), which includes private information on rescue beneficiaries in the event of a disaster.
The Musk team, which focuses on reducing federal spending, has been criticized to access sensitive data without security authorization. This has raised confidentiality problems and led to several proceedings. Musk also suggested that FEMA could become a target for a more in -depth examination, declaring that the agency is “broken”. Noem said that she would support the modifications of FEMA if she was educated by the president.
