President Donald Trump was sued on Friday by 19 Democratic attorneys general to prevent Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from obtaining Treasury Department documents that include millions of Americans’ bank account details and sensitive personal information like Social Security.
The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in New York City, claims that the Trump administration broke federal law by giving Musk’s team access to the Treasury Department’s primary payment system.
In addition to processing tax refunds, Social Security payments, veterans’ benefits, and much more, the payment system manages a vast network of financial and personal information about Americans and disburses trillions of dollars annually.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the White House.
The purpose of Musk’s Department of federal Efficiency, or DOGE, is to identify and cut out federal spending that the Trump administration has determined to be unnecessary. While supporters have applauded the concept of limiting bloated government finances, DOGE’s access to Treasury documents and its examination of other government agencies have sparked considerable alarm among detractors over Musk’s growing power.
On his social media platform X, Musk has mocked critics of DOGE while claiming that it is saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s data creates security concerns and the potential for an unauthorized freezing of federal funding, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office brought the complaint.
“They specifically 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 stated in a video message released by her office. “This unelected group, led by the richest man in the world, is not authorized to have this information.”
According to James, a Democrat who has been one of Trump’s main opponents, the president cannot stop Congress-approved federal payments and cannot divulge Americans’ private information to anybody he pleases.
Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin are also parties to the complaint.
According to the lawsuit, DOGE’s access to Treasury records might impede on funds that Congress has already appropriated, going beyond the Treasury Department’s legislative jurisdiction. The case further contends that the DOGE access is in violation of the separation of powers principle of the U.S. Constitution and federal administrative law.
Additionally, it accuses Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of altering the department’s long-standing policy to safeguard financial and personally identifiable information in order to grant Musk’s DOGE team access to its payment systems.
The lawsuit claims that this ruling disregarded the privacy expectations of federal fund recipients, such as states, veterans, retirees, and taxpayers, and failed to take into consideration legal requirements to secure such data.
William Tongs, the attorney general for Connecticut, stated that it is unclear what DOGE is doing with the data stored in the Treasury computers.
According to a statement from Tong, this is the biggest data breach in American history. DOGE is a group of illegally formed digital renegades that trawl through sensitive data, private documents, and vital payment systems. What might go wrong?
According to the Treasury Department, no changes are being made and the review’s goal is to evaluate the system’s integrity. Two individuals with knowledge of the procedure said that Musk’s team started their investigation by trying to find a way to halt payments from the US Agency for International Development, which Trump and Musk are trying to shut down. Because they were afraid of reprisals, the two spoke to The Associated Press under the condition of anonymity.
Democrats are also requesting that the Treasury Department look into DOGE’s access to the government’s payment system.
Concerned about the legitimacy of the payments system review, advocacy organizations and labor unions have also filed a lawsuit to stop it. On Thursday, a judge in Washington temporarily denied read-only access to two employees.
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By Associated Press’s Anthony Izaguirre
This article was written by Dave Collins of the Hartford, Connecticut, Associated Press.
