19 states sue Trump, Treasury to halt DOGE access

[Dulcinea]

(Politico) NEW YORK — Democratic state attorneys general continued their legal resistance to President Donald Trump’s early policies Friday, filing a new lawsuit accusing Trump and the Treasury Department of violating federal law by granting Elon Musk’s aides access to a sensitive federal payments database.

Coalitions of states have also challenged the president’s orders to end birthright citizenship and freeze federal funding — both now halted by courts.

The newest suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, argues that granting access to the staffers from Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency puts at risk billions of dollars in grants, health insurance payments and tax refunds that the states or their residents receive each year. The states also allege that DOGE’s access increases the possibilities that confidential information about recipients of the payments could be exposed publicly.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/19-states-sue-trump-treasury-002412202.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&segment_id=DY_VTO_CORE&ncid=crm_19908-1475736-20250208-0&bt_user_id=1teMkuU6VD3zEo%2FNM79UKUF9sZb3gKMNZ0KbGn0zFue38OkMAfnhZfz2QAL91IL3&bt_ts=1739009286817

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Federal judge blocks Elon Musk's DOGE team from accessing sensitive taxpayer data

This order made me smile
https://bsky.app/profile/eliza5200.bsky.social/post/3lhoih4xfxk2u

Link to tweet

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/19-states-sue-block-elon-musks-doge-team/story

A federal judge in New York granted the 19 states suing over DOGE's access to highly sensitive taxpayer records a temporary restraining order.

Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote that the court believed the plaintiffs would face "irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief."

"That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking," the judge wrote.

Nineteen states sued the Trump administration to block government employees associated with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing taxpayer records, including the Social Security numbers and bank account information of millions of Americans.

The lawsuit -- filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other state attorneys general -- alleged the breach of sensitive Treasury Department data "poses huge cybersecurity risks" and violates multiple federal laws.