Sweetser Criticizes Trump Administration’s Surveillance Database Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kyle Sweetser, an Alabama native and Republican turned Democrat, condemned the Trump administration’s plan to collaborate with Palantir Technologies to develop a comprehensive database on U.S. citizens. This announcement was shared on his X account alongside a poignant video.

In the video, Sweetser warned that the government’s contract with Palantir poses a serious threat to American freedom. “America, our freedom is in danger,” he stated. “This administration just granted a contract to Palantir technologies to create a master database of all U.S. citizens’ data, including our medical records and bank account information.”

According to reports, the Trump administration is leveraging Palantir, a data analysis firm founded by wealthy investor Peter Thiel, to implement an executive order from March that mandates federal agencies to share data. Critics of the move express deep concerns over the potential expansion of government surveillance.

Sheera Frenkel and Aaron Krolik from The New York Times highlighted that since President Trump took office, Palantir’s federal contracts have exceeded $113 million. This figure, they note, does not include an additional $795 million contract awarded to the firm last week.

This database would reportedly connect various forms of personal data from Americans, such as bank account numbers, medical claims, and disability statuses. Palantir has also been negotiating with the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service to enhance its data access.

“What is really troubling is that this database could be used to target U.S. citizens without due process,” Sweetser argued, voicing his concern over what he views as authoritarian tendencies within the current administration. “These folks have been snatching people off the street without due process,” he added. “I will fight for everyone’s rights and I won’t sell out the same way Trump and the Republican Party sold out.”

U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin from Maryland also criticized the plan, questioning claims that a database would help eliminate waste and fraud in the government. “They have not demonstrated a single case in which fraud detection has required some universal governmental access to everybody’s data,” Raskin asserted.

Multiple organizations, including Democracy Forward and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration to prevent the creation of this database. As of now, it remains uncertain whether these legal actions will succeed.

“This is a big deal. It’s a slippery slope,” Sweetser stated in a follow-up conversation. “Most Alabamians don’t want the government invading their private lives.”