Federal employee unions are suing the Treasury and alleging Elon Musk's DOGE gained illegal and 'unprecedented' access to data
The lawsuit accused Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, of giving Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive information.
Kenny Holston-Pool via Getty Images
- Three federal employee unions filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department on Monday.
- The unions accused Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, of sharing sensitive data with Elon Musk's DOGE.
- The White House said Musk had "abided by all applicable federal laws."
Three federal employee unions have accused the Treasury Department of giving Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency unlawful access to sensitive information.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, lawyers acting for the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees, and the Service Employees International Union said Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, violated federal law when he shared the department's data with DOGE.
The three union groups are represented by lawyers from the Public Citizen Litigation Group and the State Democracy Defenders Fund.
"Federal laws protect sensitive personal and financial information from improper disclosure and misuse, including by barring disclosure to individuals who lack a lawful and legitimate need for it," the lawyers wrote. "In his first week as Treasury Secretary, defendant Bessent violated these restrictions."
The lawsuit said Musk and DOGE staffers had sought access to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service's records "for some time" but had been "rebuffed by the employee then in charge of the Bureau." The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a department within the Treasury that oversees all federal payments and collections.
Bessent then put that employee on leave and gave DOGE's staffers "full access" to the Bureau's data and computers, the lawsuit said.
"The scale of the intrusion into individuals' privacy is massive and unprecedented," the lawsuit added.
"People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his 'DOGE.' And federal law says they do not have to," the lawsuit said.
Lawyers from the Public Citizen Litigation Group and State Democracy Defenders Fund didn't respond to requests for comment.
On Monday, President Donald Trump told reporters that Musk was given access to Treasury data so that he could identify wasteful government spending.
"He's got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him. And it's only if we agree with him," Trump said while signing executive orders in the Oval Office.
"Elon can't do and won't do anything without our approval, and we will give him the approval where appropriate," Trump added.
A White House spokesperson told Business Insider on Monday that Musk was a "special government employee" and wouldn't be paid for his services. According to federal law, special government employees cannot work for more than 130 days in a 365-day period.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on the same day that Musk had "abided by all applicable federal laws."
The Treasury and Musk didn't respond to requests for comment from BI.
Shortly after winning the November election, Trump announced that Musk and the biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy would co-lead DOGE. Trump said in his announcement that the commission would cut wasteful federal spending and slash excess regulations.
Last month, Ramaswamy said he was stepping away from DOGE, leaving Musk as its sole leader.
In October, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO outlined his goals for DOGE. At a Trump campaign event, he said the committee would save the government at least $2 trillion, though he didn't specify what cuts he would make to achieve that target.
Achieving Musk's $2 trillion target would involve cutting government spending by nearly a third. The federal government spent $6.75 trillion in the 2024 fiscal year.
In January, Musk appeared to walk back his estimate, saying that reducing $2 trillion in spending would be a "best-case outcome" for DOGE. The billionaire said in an interview with the political strategist Mark Penn that the commission had a "good shot" at saving $1 trillion.
Reducing the federal deficit from $2T to $1T in FY2026 requires cutting an average of ~$4B/day in projected 2026 spending from now to Sept 30.
That would still result in a ~$1T deficit, but economic growth should be able to match that number, which would mean no inflation in…— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 31, 2025
"If we can drop the budget deficit from $2 trillion to $1 trillion and free up the economy to have additional growth such that the output of goods and services keeps pace with the increase in the money supply, then there will be no inflation," Musk told Penn. "So that, I think, would be an epic outcome."
