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... "When we talk about farm loan application records, there is no more personal information anywhere than in that database," Scott Marlow, a former senior official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told NPR. "The farmer's entire financial life and the life of their kids and their family, every time they've missed a payment, every time they've had a hard time, every time they've gotten in financial trouble -- it's there."

With DOGE's initial de facto leader, Elon Musk, engaged in an on-again, off-again feud with the president and no longer a constant presence in the White House, some of DOGE's work has faded from view. But DOGE very much continues in Musk's absence. In some cases, including at the USDA, the team's access appears to have only deepened in recent months. Indeed, sources across government agencies who spoke to NPR say the impacts of DOGE's plans and cuts have only just begun to play out. ...

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