Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) launched a whistleblower portal to document President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts to overhaul the federal government and its initiatives to dismantle agencies and departments.  The new portal, launched Friday, looks to tally information from both private and public employees regarding DOGE’s work.  “Whistleblowers play a vital role in helping Congress conduct its constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities,” according to the portal’s webpage. “Ranking Member Merkley is interested in information regarding waste, fraud, and abuse in the public and private sectors.”  Democrats in both chambers of Congress have sounded the alarm over the advisory board’s work, overseen by tech billionaire and close Trump adviser Elon Musk.  "The President is not a king, and we will make sure he is held accountable," Merkley said in a statement to Axios, which first reported on the portal’s launch.  The launch comes a day after Trump signed an executive order that will help with his longtime goal of terminating the Department of Education. Merkley’s colleagues in the chamber have also looked to hear from workers who in their view would expose the abuses and wrongdoing of the current administration.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) launched a whistleblower portal in early February, another step the Democrats are taking this Congress to push back against the administration’s actions.  “As Senate Republicans refuse to fulfill their constitutional duty to provide a check on the executive branch, Senate Democrats remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth. We are prepared to issue demand letters, preserve public records and pursue legal action where necessary,” Schumer and Peters said at the time.  Schumer and Peters, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said whistleblowers are “essential to helping uncover fraud and abuse in the federal government.  “If you have information you want to share about wrongdoing, abuse of power, and threats to public safety, we stand ready to support you in your pursuit of truth and justice,” the pair wrote.  The Hill has reached out to the DOGE spokesperson for comment.  ...read more read less