Trump’s Treasury sued after DOGE reportedly accesses sensitive data
A group of unions representing federal employees filed a lawsuit on Monday against Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, alleging that he illegally allowed billionaire Elon Musk and his army of unqualified Department of Government Efficiency bros to access sensitive personal information in violation of the Privacy Act of 1974.
The lawsuit is in response to a Washington Post report, which said that Musk forced out the top career Treasury official in charge of overseeing trillions of dollars of government payments so that DOGE aides could access the payment systems. Those systems are responsible for handling trillions of dollars of tax revenue, as well as disbursing payments for Social Security and Medicare benefits, tax refunds, government grants, and more.
The lawsuit, filed by the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees, and the Service Employees International Union, seeks to halt Musk and DOGE’s reported access to that sensitive Treasury Department data, saying that “[t]he Privacy Act prohibits Defendants from disclosing records on individuals to Mr. Musk, other individuals associated with DOGE, or any other person without the individual’s consent except in specified circumstances.”
The lawsuit alleges that “Bessent’s action granting DOGE-affiliated individuals full, continuous, and ongoing access to that information for an unspecified period of time means that retirees, taxpayers, federal employees, companies, and other individuals from all walks of life have no assurance that their information will receive the protection that federal law affords. And because Defendants’ actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals will not have even basic information about what personal or financial information that Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used.”
Aside from this lawsuit, Senate Democrats on Monday said they will introduce a bill to block Musk and DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department data.
“Let’s not mince words here,” Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a news conference. “An unelected, unaccountable billionaire—with expansive conflicts of interest, deep ties to China, and an indiscreet axe to grind against perceived enemies—is hijacking our nation’s most sensitive financial data systems and its checkbook so that he can illegally block funds to our constituents, based on the slightest whim or wildest conspiracy. Funds—mind you—that Congress passed on a bipartisan basis.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also said on Monday that House Democrats will introduce similar legislation.
“[A]t my direction, legislation will be introduced shortly to prevent unlawful access to the Department of Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment system that contains highly confidential and personal information related to Social Security and Medicare recipients, taxpayers, households, nonprofits, businesses and federal contractors,” Jeffries said in a letter to House Democrats.
Of course, any legislation would require Republican support since the GOP controls both the House and the Senate. And Republicans have shown zero desire to stop Trump and Musk from carrying out actions that will clearly cause harm for millions of Americans, whether it be freezing all federal funds, shutting down federal agencies, or confirming unqualified radical lunatics to Trump’s Cabinet.
With Republicans in charge, the last hope we have is the court system. And given that the courts have been filled with radical MAGA judges, and the Supreme Court has been compromised by three Trump appointees, along with right-wing Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, we may not be able to trust that branch of government either.