Unions Sue Treasury Department Over Data Access to Musk-Led Agency
The American Federation of Government Employees has sued the Treasury Department to limit access to its data by the Department of Government Efficiency, following incidents of unauthorized data access.
The American Federation of Government Employees and several other unions filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department on Monday, aiming to restrict the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) access to Treasury data. This action follows reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved a plan to share this data with the Elon Musk-led agency over the weekend.
According to the New York Times, the Treasury Department's payment systems are "closely held," containing sensitive personal data, including information about Americans receiving tax refunds, Social Security checks, and various federal payments. Recently, DOGE faced controversy when officials tried to enter the offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in an effort to access classified information. Despite not having the necessary security clearance, DOGE representatives managed to obtain these classified materials. Following this incident, two USAID security officers were placed on leave for initially blocking DOGE officials, while the USAID public affairs team was locked out of their systems and also put on leave, as reported by CNN.
