Three federal judges on Friday will decide whether Elon Musk‘s cost-cutting team, known as DOGE, should retain access to Treasury Department payment systems and potentially sensitive data across U.S. health, consumer protection, labour, and education agencies.
The Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has swept through federal agencies since Republican Donald Trump became president last month and put the chief executive of carmaker Tesla in charge of rooting out wasteful spending as part of Trump’s dramatic overhaul of government.
Temporary Block On DOGE
In Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas will consider a request by Democratic state attorneys general to extend a temporary block on DOGE that was put in place on Saturday, which prevented Musk’s team from accessing Treasury systems responsible for trillions of dollars of payments.
The states allege that Musk’s team has no legal power to access the payment systems that contain sensitive personal information on millions of Americans.
The lawsuit also argued that Musk and his team could disrupt federal funding for health clinics, preschools, climate initiatives and other programmes, and that Trump could use the information to further his political agenda.
Plea To Bar DOGE
In Washington, U.S. District Judge John Bates will consider a request by unions to prevent the DOGE team from accessing sensitive records at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Labor Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Bates denied a similar request last week, delivering a ruling in the Trump administration’s favour. The unions have renewed that request after they amended their lawsuit.
A similar group of Democratic attorneys general sued Musk, Trump and DOGE on Thursday, alleging that Musk’s appointment was unconstitutional.
The attorneys general asked a federal judge in Washington to bar him from accessing and using government data, cancelling contracts or making personnel decisions, among other things.
Third Hearing
At a third hearing on Friday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington will consider a request by the University of California Student Association to extend a temporary block on DOGE from accessing systems at the Department of Education, which the students said would violate privacy and administrative procedure laws.
Moss put a temporary freeze on DOGE access to those systems earlier this week that will expire on Monday.
DOGE Conducting ‘Proper Oversight’
The Trump administration has argued that the DOGE team is carrying out proper oversight of agency activities to identify fraud and waste.
It has also argued that agency employees need access to government systems as part of their jobs and does not violate privacy laws.
Trump’s Moves Legally Challenged
Most of Trump’s initiatives that have been legally challenged have been blocked by the courts, which has prompted Musk and other Trump allies to call for judges to be impeached, although the president said he would obey court orders.
Despite some initiatives being blocked in court, Trump’s administration has pushed ahead with mass firings of government workers and has sharply curtailed the United States’ foreign aid programme, although the cost-cutting appears to be focused on programs opposed by political conservatives.
(With inputs from Reuters)
