A group of powerful unions has taken legal action against the US Treasury Department, filing a lawsuit to halt Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) from accessing sensitive financial and personal information.
The unions are seeking an immediate court order to prevent Elon’s team from accessing federal payment systems, alleging that the Treasury unlawfully granted them access to confidential data such as taxpayer records, federal employee information, and company data.
The lawsuit comes after Scott Bessent, the current head of the Treasury, approved Elon’s access, which the unions claim violates federal privacy laws and jeopardizes the security of all Americans. In their legal filing, they are demanding that any data already collected by D.O.G.E be retrieved and securely stored.
Elon Musk’s team has been tasked with identifying inefficiencies in government spending and modernizing federal tech systems ever since President Donald Trump established D.O.G.E through an executive order on January 22nd.
Controversy Surrounding Treasury Payment Systems
According to the union’s lawsuit, the Treasury’s payment systems process over 1.2 billion federal transactions annually, handling a wide range of payments including Social Security benefits, Medicare payments, and defense contracts.
The complaint alleges that Elon’s access was granted shortly after the abrupt resignation of David Lebryk, the Treasury’s acting Deputy Secretary who played a key role in overseeing payment processes. The unions are pointing to his departure as evidence of potential impropriety.
“Our members’ privacy is being violated, and the repercussions are irreversible,” stated the union in their court filing. Treasury officials have defended their decision, asserting that Elon’s team only has “read-only” access to encrypted data.
As per a report from Fox Business, a Treasury spokesperson informed Congress that the access granted to D.O.G.E is necessary for operational reviews and does not impact payments or provide control over the system. They emphasized that no legitimate payment requests have been hindered or delayed.
Congress Demands Accountability for Elon’s Authority
Democratic lawmakers in Congress, led by Senator Patty Murray, are criticizing the Treasury for allowing Elon Musk to have any involvement in government finances. Senator Murray questioned the Treasury’s assurances, referencing Elon’s online statements suggesting that D.O.G.E could disrupt payments to organizations at his discretion.
She highlighted concerns about Tom Krause, CEO of Cloud Software Group and a key member of D.O.G.E, serving as a special government employee with less stringent ethical standards than full-time federal employees. The Treasury Secretary clarified that Krause’s role is standard and involves evaluating payment systems to enhance efficiency.
Representative Maxwell Frost attempted to gain access similar to Elon’s team at the Treasury, citing representation of his constituents. His efforts were rebuffed, with White House communications director Steven Cheung dismissing it as a ploy for social media attention rather than problem-solving.