DOGE to be sued by 13 U.S. states over access to government payment systems with personal data

Musk has made fun of the criticism of DOGE on X while saying it is saving taxpayers millions of dollars.

Democratic attorneys general in several states vowed Thursday to file a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans' sensitive personal information.

Thirteen attorneys general, including New York's Letitia James, said in a statement that they were taking action “in defense of our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on."

“As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law," the statement said. “The President does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Government officials and labour unions have been among those raising concerns about DOGE's involvement with the payment system for the federal government, saying it could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Also Thursday, a federal judge ordered that two Musk allies have “read only” access to Treasury Department payment systems, but no one else will get access for now, including Musk himself. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by federal workers unions trying to stop DOGE from following through on what they call a massive privacy invasion.

It was not immediately clear when the Democratic attorneys general will file their lawsuit.