Illinois U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen sees “great danger” in the Department of Government Efficiency’s involvement with the Treasury Department, and “red flags” about the Trump Administration’s buyout offer to thousands of federal employees.
“I want to find the government waste, you know. I want to find the redundancy,” Sorensen said Friday during a virtual media session, cautioning that President Donald Trump’s swift actions and executive orders may have broad, unintended consequences.
“He needs to [cut the waste]; he's got four years to do that, but we're just on Day 18. I feel like there's a tornado going through, and it doesn't have to be this way. We should be methodical when we talk about this, because it isn't just a blanket approach that we have to cut everywhere – because that has the potential of doing real harm.”
Sorensen, a second-term Democrat from Moline whose 17th District includes parts of Peoria and Bloomington-Normal, reiterated an earlier pledge to work toward protecting personal privacy after Elon Musk’s DOGE team gained access to the Treasury Department’s payment system.
“We have people that do not have security clearances, we have an unelected billionaire that wants to have all of the keys and all of the passwords, and there's a great danger if we're to allow that to happen,” said Sorensen.
“This isn't a Republican or a Democratic thing; this isn't a right or a left thing. This is a right and wrong thing, and I know to stand up against this, not just because Democrats are calling my office, but because Republicans are calling in great numbers today — Republican constituents of mine that said, ‘This isn't what I voted for.’”
Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation into DOGE’s access at Treasury, and the Trump Administration agreed to restrict that access temporarily in response to a privacy lawsuit.
Meanwhile, a federal judge has temporarily halted a Trump plan to offer government employees a “deferred resignation” buyout, a move Sorensen said could result in a drain on workforce talent and staffing shortages at federal job sites.
“The president does not have the authority to spend money; that's Congress’ job,” said Sorensen. “I worry, if someone is going to take that offer from the president, how are you going to be paid? There is no mechanism for that fund to get into your checkbook.”
Sorensen also addressed his concerns as a meteorologist about DOGE looking to implement budget cuts and staff reductions at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], cautioning it would reduce the amount of information gathered and delivered by the National Weather Service and the Climate Prediction Center.
“What if the data is gone? What if we don't have the ability to make good scientific reactions anymore? There will be real implications if these people walk off the job, or if we take these people out of their job, or if we eliminate it,” said Sorensen.
“We're going to put more people at risk here at home. This has nothing to do with waste or resiliency. It just means that the risk to people goes up.”
Transgender athletes
Sorensen, the first openly-LGBTQ person elected to represent Illinois in Congress, said he doesn't expect any House response to Trump's executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports.
Following Trump’s directive, the NCAA on Friday limited competition in women's sports to only student-athletes assigned female at birth.
“It's not Congress’ job to regulate how this works at the NCAA level; I have long said it's not Congress’ job to intervene here,” said Sorensen, adding a Republican administration keen on reducing the size of government continually takes “overreaching” actions.
Sorensen shared that while he wasn’t very good at sports in his youth, he did learn the importance of teamwork and giving everyone an opportunity.
“I did learn that everyone gets a shot, everyone gets the ball passed to them once and they get to take that shot,” he said. “In the end, I want to make sure that everyone is treated with the dignity and the respect that they deserve.”
Trump previously signed an order barring transgender individuals from serving in the military. Sorensen, who has served on the House Armed Services Committee, noted the transgender population among the armed forces is “a very small percentage.”
