US spy agency data on DOGE website was 'unclassified' but not meant for public release

Adds White House comments in paragraph 3, background on SpaceX and the NRO in paragraph 5

By AJ Vicens

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Data posted to the Department of Government Efficiency's website detailing headcount and total wages for the National Reconnaissance Office is not classified, but was not intended for public release, an NRO spokesperson told Reuters on Friday.

The NRO, an intelligence agency that manages spy satellites, is working to remedy the situation, the spokesperson said. The data was still available on the DOGE website on Friday.

Representatives of Elon Musk's DOGE and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A White House spokesperson told Huffington Post, which originally reported the data's posting on February 14, that DOGE did not share classified information and that DOGE staff are carrying out the agency's mission with the proper security clearances and are following the law.

The NRO data was sourced from the Office of Personnel Management FedScope database, according to the DOGE website.

SpaceX, Musk's rocket and space equipment company, has a multi-billion dollar spy satellite network contract with the NRO, signed in 2021. Reuters reported on February 7 that NRO Inspector General Terrence Edwards investigated whether Troy Meink, President Donald Trump's nominee as Air Force Secretary and a senior NRO official, arranged the contract solicitation in a way that favored SpaceX.