A coalition of predominantly Democratic-led US states filed a lawsuit yesterday to prevent a Trump administration panel, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, from accessing government systems that process trillions of dollars in payments.
Nineteen states, spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, argue that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency lacks the legal authority to access US Department of Treasury systems, which hold personal data on millions of Americans.
A lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court alleges that Musk and his team could jeopardize federal funding for health clinics, preschools, climate initiatives, and other programs. It also claims that Republican President Donald Trump might exploit this information to advance his political agenda.
DOGE’s access to the system also “poses huge cybersecurity risks that put vast amounts of funding for the States and their residents in peril,” the attorneys general said.
Trump appointed Musk to spearhead DOGE’s initiative to identify government fraud and waste. Musk’s actions have raised concerns among Democrats and advocacy groups, who argue he is exceeding his authority by aiming to dismantle essential government agencies and dismiss large numbers of federal employees.
The lawsuit lists Trump and the Treasury Department as defendants. James is joined by the attorneys general from California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, and several other states.
In a separate lawsuit filed by unions alleging that Musk’s team is breaching privacy laws by accessing payment systems, a federal judge on Thursday directed the Treasury to restrict access to two “special government employees,” stipulating that their access should be read-only.
Lawsuits have been filed to prevent DOGE from obtaining data from the US Departments of Labor and Education.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, appointed by Trump, announced this week that Musk will not affect the department’s payment system. Other agencies would make any decisions to halt payments.
In the lawsuit filed yesterday, New York and other states argue that permitting DOGE access to the payment system breaches a federal law mandating agencies to carry out “privacy impact assessments” before deploying technology that gathers or shares information and unlawfully encroaches on Congress’s authority.
Source: Reuters
