A coalition of 19 Democratic attorneys general has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, alleging unauthorized access to a sensitive federal payments database.
The lawsuit, filed Friday, February, 7, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenges the administration’s decision to grant aides of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to confidential financial information.
The complaint, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, contends that such access jeopardizes billions of dollars in grants, health insurance payments, and tax refunds that states and their residents receive annually.
The attorneys general also argue that DOGE’s involvement raises significant privacy concerns, potentially exposing sensitive personal data.
Legal Concerns Over Unauthorized Access
James condemned the administration’s actions, stating:
“Musk and DOGE have no authority to access Americans’ private information and some of our country’s most sensitive data. I am taking action to keep our information secure.”
The lawsuit seeks to block political appointees, special government employees, and non-Treasury personnel from accessing the database. It further requests that any unauthorized individuals who have already obtained access return any information they have received.
The extent of DOGE’s access remains unclear. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a named defendant in the lawsuit, told Bloomberg News that only two DOGE members had been granted “read-only” access to the database. One of those individuals, Marko Elez, resigned following a Wall Street Journal exposé detailing racist social media posts. However, Musk later stated that Elez would be rehired.
White House Response and Political Backlash
The White House dismissed the lawsuit as political posturing. Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields criticized Democratic attorneys general for focusing on litigation instead of governance, stating, “Slashing waste, fraud, and abuse, and becoming better stewards of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars might be a crime to Democrats, but it’s not a crime in a court of law.”
The attorneys general joining James in the lawsuit represent Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Broader Legal Implications
This lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges to the Trump administration’s executive actions. State coalitions have previously challenged attempts to end birthright citizenship and freeze federal funding, both of which were halted by the courts.
Additionally, two labor unions filed a similar lawsuit against the Treasury Department earlier this week, alleging unauthorized access to the payment database.
That case led to a temporary agreement restricting database access to regular Treasury employees and two DOGE-affiliated staffers, Elez and Tom Krause, until the court rules on long-term restrictions.
The lawsuit could have significant implications for executive authority over federal financial databases and the broader issue of data privacy within government operations.
