Labor unions sue to block DOGE access to sensitive information at US agencies

AP NEWS

Collin Binkley

February 10, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of labor unions filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal court to stop Elon Musk’s team from accessing private data at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management.

The suit, led by the American Federation of Teachers, alleges the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it gave Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to systems with personal information on tens of millions of Americans without their consent. It was filed in federal court in Maryland.

It’s the latest in a flurry of legal challenges to Musk’s growing influence over federal agencies he has promised to slash or dismantle. A federal judge in New York blocked Musk’s team from a Treasury Department system on Saturday after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued over privacy concerns.

Also Monday, DOGE cut about $900 million in Education Department contracts after concluding they were a waste of taxpayer money, a department spokesperson said. The cuts spanned 90 contracts at the Institute of Education Sciences, a research branch of the federal agency. The department did not immediately release additional details.

Continue Reading