Nineteen Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump on Friday to stop Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.
The case, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges the Trump administration allowed Musk's team access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system in violation of federal law.
Elon Musk speaks at a Jan. 20 presidential inauguration event on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump in Washington.
The payment system handles tax refunds, Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits and much more, sending out trillions of dollars every year while containing an expansive network of Americans' personal and financial data.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, was created to find and eliminate what the Trump administration deemed wasteful government spending.
DOGE's access to Treasury records, as well as its inspection of various government agencies, ignited widespread concern among critics over the increasing power of Musk, while supporters cheered at the idea of reining in bloated government finances.
Musk made fun of criticism of DOGE on his X social media platform while saying it is saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed the lawsuit, said DOGE's access to the Treasury Department's data raises security problems and the possibility for an illegal freeze in federal funds.
“This unelected group, led by the world’s richest man, is not authorized to have this information, and they explicitly sought this unauthorized access to illegally block payments that millions of Americans rely on, payments for health care, child care and other essential programs,” James said in a video message released by her office.
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a June 11, 2019, news conference in New York.
James, a Democrat who has been one of Trump’s chief antagonists, said the president does not have the power to give away American's private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.
Also on the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
The suit alleges that DOGE’s access to the Treasury records could interfere with funding already appropriated by Congress, which would exceed the Treasury Department’s statutory authority. The case also argues that the DOGE access violates federal administrative law and the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine.
It also accuses Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of changing the department’s longstanding policy for protecting sensitive personally identifiable information and financial information to allow Musk’s DOGE team access to its payment systems.
“This decision failed to account for legal obligations to protect such data and ignored the privacy expectations of federal fund recipients,” including states, veterans, retirees and taxpayers, the lawsuit says.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said it's not clear what DOGE is doing with the information in the Treasury systems.
“This is the largest data breach in American history," Tong said in a statement. “DOGE is an unlawfully constituted band of renegade tech bros combing through confidential records, sensitive data and critical payment systems. What could go wrong?”
The Treasury Department said the review is about assessing the integrity of the system and no changes are being made.
According to two people familiar with the process, Musk’s team began its inquiry looking for ways to suspend payments made by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump and Musk are attempting to dismantle. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Separately, Democratic lawmakers seek a Treasury Department investigation of DOGE’s access to the government’s payment system.
People listen to speakers Tuesday during a rally against Elon Musk outside the Treasury Department in Washington.
Judge declines to block DOGE access to Labor Department data
Labor unions and advocacy groups sued to block the payments system review over concerns about its legality.
“At every step," wrote labor union lawyers represented by the advocacy group Democracy Forward, “DOGE is violating multiple laws, from constitutional limits on executive power, to laws protecting civil servants from arbitrary threats and adverse action, to crucial protections for government data collected and stored on hundreds of millions of Americans.”
A federal judge said Friday he would not immediately block Musk's team from accessing systems at the Labor Department, which investigated companies owned by the billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump.
U.S. District Judge John Bates said he had concerns about DOGE, but the labor unions who sued to stop them haven't yet shown a legal injury.
“Although the court harbors concerns about defendants’ alleged conduct, it must deny plaintiffs’ motion at this time,” Bates wrote.
The Trump administration agreed this week that DOGE wouldn’t get Labor Department access until a ruling from Bates, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush.
The group of labor unions sued to keep DOGE workers out of the Labor Department systems, which contain medical and financial records of millions of Americans, including those who filed safety complaints about their employers.
The Labor Department also has information about investigations into some of Musk’s companies, as well as information about competitors' trade secrets, the unions said in their suit.
The department is home to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which investigated and fined Musk's SpaceX and Tesla in connection with worker safety, the unions said in court documents.
The Justice Department said there are three DOGE staffers detailed to the Labor Department and reporting to its acting secretary, but they were made special government employees and would follow the law with any sensitive information about corporations or workers as they carry out their cost-cutting mission.
Department leadership told a union member this week that Musk and his team would be visiting and workers should let them do “whatever they ask, not to push back, not to ask questions," the unions wrote.
The Justice Department said there’s no proof of wrongdoing and the judge shouldn’t issue “a sweeping, prophylactic order … based on plaintiffs’ rank speculation that DOL will violate the law.”
AP writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
