Judge blocks DOGE from accessing sensitive information at US agencies
[March 25, 2025]
By LEA SKENE
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.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction in
a case filed last month by a coalition of labor unions in federal court
in Maryland. Led by the American Federation of Teachers, the plaintiffs
allege Trump's administration violated federal privacy laws when it gave
DOGE access to systems with personal information on tens of millions of
Americans without their consent.
Boardman, who was nominated to the federal bench by former President Joe
Biden, had previously issued a temporary restraining order. The
preliminary injunction offers longer-term relief blocking DOGE access as
the case plays out.
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.
The lawsuit accused the Trump administration of handing over sensitive
data for reasons beyond its intended use, violating the Privacy Act.
Instead of carrying out the functions of the federal student loan
program, the lawsuit says, DOGE has been accessing loan data “for
purposes of destroying” the Education Department.
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Demonstrators gather outside of the Edward A. Garmatz United States
District Courthouse in Baltimore, on Friday, March 14, 2025, before
a hearing regarding the Department of Government Efficiency's access
to Social Security data. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week to
dismantle the department, saying that student loans will be handled
by the Small Business Administration and programs involving students
with disabilities will be shifted to the Department of Health and
Human Services.
His administration says DOGE is targeting waste across the federal
government by addressing alleged fraud and upgrading technology.
One of the nation’s largest teachers unions, the American Federation
of Teachers says it represents 1.8 million workers in education,
health care and government. Also joining the suit were six people
with sensitive information stored in federal systems, including
military veterans who received federal student loans and other
federal benefit payments.
The suit also was backed by the National Active and Retired Federal
Employees Association, and the International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
The injunction, which could be challenged on appeal, is limited to
protecting the personal information of the individual plaintiffs and
members of the groups.
“No matter how important or urgent the President’s DOGE agenda may
be, federal agencies must execute it in accordance with the law,”
Boardman wrote. “That likely did not happen in this case.”
In a separate Maryland case last week, a judge temporarily blocked
DOGE from accessing Social Security databases that similarly contain
vast amounts of personal information.
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