Bill makes unelected DOGE chief personally liable for federal wrongdoing
H.R. 1145 — Nobody Elected Elon Musk Act · Filed by Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) · 26 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 7, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill makes the special government employee managing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) personally liable for any claims against the federal government arising from DOGE's activities, including violations of labor law, privacy law, security law, appropriations law, or any other statute. The bill overrides normal sovereign immunity and indemnification rules that would otherwise shield federal employees and the government itself from liability.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to strip a named individual of sovereign immunity and indemnification protections, making him personally liable for federal wrongdoing. This is a direct accountability tool, not a policy change or appropriation.
What the text implies
- The bill may deter qualified candidates from accepting the DOGE role if personal liability exposure is unlimited and covers any federal statute violation, potentially affecting recruitment.
- Personal liability does not prevent the underlying DOGE activities from occurring; it only shifts who pays if they violate law. The bill does not restrict DOGE's authority or operations.
- The phrase 'notwithstanding' suggests the bill overrides existing indemnification statutes (likely 28 U.S.C. § 2679 or similar), but the full scope of what is being overridden is not explicit in this excerpt.
- Citizens would need to identify and sue the individual manager personally; the bill does not establish a claims process, fund a victim compensation scheme, or create an administrative remedy.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates personal accountability for a powerful unelected official by making him liable for violations of labor, privacy, security, and appropriations law. Citizens harmed by DOGE activities gain a direct legal remedy against the individual responsible, rather than being blocked by sovereign immunity or forced to sue the federal government.
Named in the bill
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Executive Office of the President, Special Government Employee, 18 U.S.C. § 202(a), Federal labor laws, Federal privacy laws, Federal appropriations laws
Where it stands
26 cosponsors: 26 Democrats.
- Feb 7, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 7, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (740 characters) on Aug 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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