Unions File Lawsuit To Block DOGE Access To Treasury Data

A federal judge in Washington D.C. is hearing arguments on whether to block Elon Musk’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive Treasury records.

According to ABC News, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is weighing whether to grant a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing or using taxpayer data, including names, Social Security numbers, and bank account details.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the Service Employees International Union, and the Alliance for Retired Americans filed a lawsuit calling the alleged intrusion “massive and unprecedented,” claiming DOGE obtained the information “without providing any legal justification.” 

Per the New York Times, “The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union of federal employees, representing more than 800,000 workers, filed the suit alongside the Service Employees International Union and Alliance for Retired Americans, a group that represents the interests of retired union workers. All three groups are affiliated with the A.F.L.-C.I.O., an umbrella group of more than 50 unions representing more than 12.5 million workers.”

The unions requested the judge bar the Treasury Department from sharing further records and prohibit DOGE employees from using those already obtained, the filing says.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Musk, in his role leading DOGE, “has abided by all applicable federal laws,” per Bloomberg.

DOGE, formed to streamline federal agencies under President Donald Trump, now faces its first major court challenge, with the judge hearing arguments early Wednesday afternoon. 

In addition to claiming the department’s data collection violated privacy statutes, the lawsuit also asserts that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent consented to granting DOGE the ability to tap into the Treasury Department’s taxpayer records. 

According to the unions, DOGE has “full, continuous, and ongoing access” to millions of financial profiles, an arrangement they say could pose a serious threat to personal security nationwide.

The Treasury Department denies this, saying on a Tuesday regarding the privacy allegations that DOGE had been given “read-only” access to “coded data.”