Federal judge blocks DOGE’s access to private data

A federal judge has blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing private data from the Education Department, Treasury Department, and Office of Personnel Management (OPM). U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction following a lawsuit by the American Federation of Teachers and other unions, which claimed the Trump administration violated privacy laws by granting DOGE access to the personal information of millions without consent. Boardman said: “They trusted the federal government to safeguard their information. That public trust likely has been breached.” The injunction protects the personal data of the plaintiffs and could be challenged on appeal. The lawsuit accused the Trump administration of handing over sensitive data for reasons beyond its intended use, violating the Privacy Act. Instead of carrying out the functions of the federal student loan program, the lawsuit says, DOGE has been accessing loan data “for purposes of destroying” the Education Department. Boardman previously issued a temporary restraining order preventing DOGE from accessing the data from the Education Department and the OPM, but she declined at the time to extend the block to Treasury data, citing a different federal judge’s preliminary injunction effectuating the same relief plaintiffs sought against that agency. The lawsuit is one of more than a dozen pending cases challenging DOGE’s structure or access to systems at various federal agencies.