Politician Faces Backlash Over Inciting Violence Claims While Lawsuit Targets Government Efficiency Agency

Democratic Representative Kweisi Mfume is under scrutiny from conservatives for allegedly inciting violence after he called for a "street fight" at a rally in Baltimore on Monday.

In a lawsuit filed on the same day, several taxpayer and union organizations accused Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of violating laws in its efforts to find and eliminate wasteful government spending.

The lawsuit contends that DOGE initiated a "sweeping campaign to access highly-sensitive information systems" and broke various laws intended to limit executive authority, safeguard civil servants, and protect citizen data held by the government.

Established by executive order earlier this year, DOGE remains a temporary agency within the White House, focused on improving government operations and reducing expenditure within an 18-month timeframe.

Recent actions by DOGE affecting several federal departments—including Treasury, Labor, Education, and Health, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Personnel Management, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS)—were noted in the suit, which argues that DOGE's sensitive data access "lacks statutory authority."

The plaintiffs claimed violations of the Tax Reform Act, Privacy Act, and Administrative Procedures Act.

The lawsuit presents concerns about DOGE potentially accessing sensitive information, such as social security numbers and financial data, warning that without court intervention, this could lead to disastrous outcomes.

Furthermore, the suit raises alarms about DOGE's access to confidential business data, including tax records and IRS investigations that might concern Musk's own businesses or those of his rivals.

According to the complaint, "No other business owner on the planet has access to this kind of information on his competitors, and for good reason."

The organizations involved—Center for Taxpayer Rights, Main Street Alliance, National Federation of Federal Employees, and Communications Workers of America—are seeking a temporary restraining order to preserve the current state of affairs until the court can evaluate DOGE and Musk's actions.

They requested the court declare DOGE’s access unlawful, impede its IRS system usage, order the deletion of illegally acquired information, and implement new security measures.

This lawsuit comes prior to a federal judge's ruling on Tuesday, which determined that DOGE could continue accessing government data and that there would be no suspension of federal employee firings.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed a request for a temporary restraining order, citing a lack of evidence demonstrating that DOGE's access had caused "irreparable harm." Nevertheless, she raised concerns over what she described as the "unchecked authority of an unelected individual," in reference to Musk, and questioned DOGE's accountability to Congress.

Additionally, last week, over a dozen state Democratic attorneys general filed a suit to temporarily limit DOGE's access to federal data on government employees due to worries about Musk's extensive power and influence.

"There is no greater threat to democracy than the accumulation of state power in the hands of a single, unelected individual," the lawsuit, filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, states. Attorneys general from various states, including Arizona, California, and others, supported the suit.