A federal judge on Monday blocked billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing people’s private data at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management.
According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit was brought forward by the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers unions in the United States. The teachers union argued that the Trump administration was violating federal privacy laws by allowing DOGE to access systems with the personal information of millions of Americans.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction.She was appointed by former President Joe Biden (D). As the case plays out, DOGE will not have access to the information at the agencies (via AP):
The judge found the Trump administration likely violated the law. She said the government failed to adequately explain why DOGE needed access to “millions of records” to perform its job duties.
She also said the Trump administration can still carry out the president’s agenda without receiving unfettered access to a trove of personal data on federal employees and people with student loans and government benefits. That includes their income and asset information, Social Security numbers, birth dates, home addresses and marital and citizenship status.
“They trusted the federal government to safeguard their information. That public trust likely has been breached,” Boardman wrote in her opinion.
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There have been many lawsuits filed over DOGE since Trump took office. Last week, Townhall covered how the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) sued to stop DOGE’s “takeover by force.” This came after DOGE had a standoff at the agency.
Earlier this month, Townhall covered how DOGE had a standoff with the U.S. African Development Foundation. This also led to a lawsuit.
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