Unions file lawsuit to prevent Musk's team from receiving Treasury funds
The article discusses a complaint alleging that the Trump administration unlawfully provided the Musk team with access, violating federal laws.
TroibNews 
On Monday, federal employee unions initiated a lawsuit to prevent Elon Musk's team from accessing a sensitive government payment system responsible for managing the distribution of trillions of dollars. This legal action coincided with heightened criticism from top Democrats, who described the billionaire's maneuvers as a “hostile takeover” of the Treasury Department.
The lawsuit was filed just days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved a plan that would allow department officials aligned with Musk access to the system. This move has intensified opposition to Musk’s aggressive approach aimed at significantly reducing federal spending.
The Alliance for Retired Americans, along with the American Federation of Government Employees and the Service Employees International Union, argue that Musk's actions could have unlawfully compromised the personal data of millions of federal employees and anyone else involved in transactions with the federal government, potentially exposing them to unauthorized personnel within the Department of Government Efficiency.
“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” the groups stated in their complaint, which was lodged in federal court in the District of Columbia.
The complaint claims that the Trump administration illegally permitted Musk's team access in violation of federal laws designed to protect agency records and maintain the confidentiality of taxpayer information.
“Secretary Bessent’s action granting DOGE-affiliated individuals full, continuous, and ongoing access to that information for an unspecified period of time means that retirees, taxpayers, federal employees, companies, and other individuals from all walks of life have no assurance that their information will receive the protection that federal law affords,” the complaint asserts. “And because Defendants’ actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals will not have even basic information about what personal or financial information that Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used.”
Treasury representatives did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Democrats intensified their criticism of Musk's actions, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer labeling DOGE as “an unelected shadow government” responsible for a “hostile takeover” of federal agencies.
Schumer and Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries disclosed that they are crafting legislation designed to enhance safeguards for the confidential and personal information held within the Treasury's payment system. Meanwhile, Democratic members of the Ways and Means Committee have commenced their own investigation into DOGE's access to these financial systems.
On the same day, other Democrats condemned the Musk team's access to the Treasury as an unprecedented form of political interference in essential government operations that manage benefits for Americans, including Social Security and Medicare.
Earlier that day, President Donald Trump expressed support for Musk's initiatives when asked about his team’s access to sensitive Treasury systems.
“Elon can't do, and won't do, anything without our approval,” Trump stated from the Oval Office. “And we'll give him the approval where appropriate. Where not appropriate, we won't.”
“Where we think there's a conflict or there's a problem, we won't let him go near it,” he added, emphasizing that Musk shares his goal to “shrink government.”
Public Citizen, which is collaborating with the unions on the lawsuit, announced on Monday that it had hired former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission General Counsel Karla Gilbride, who was dismissed by the Trump administration alongside two Democratic commissioners during a recent agency purge.
“The president is not a king, and his power has limits within our Constitutional system of checks and balances — checks and balances that, at Public Citizen, I will fight every day to preserve,” Gilbride stated in a press release.
Emily Johnson for TROIB News
The lawsuit was filed just days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved a plan that would allow department officials aligned with Musk access to the system. This move has intensified opposition to Musk’s aggressive approach aimed at significantly reducing federal spending.
The Alliance for Retired Americans, along with the American Federation of Government Employees and the Service Employees International Union, argue that Musk's actions could have unlawfully compromised the personal data of millions of federal employees and anyone else involved in transactions with the federal government, potentially exposing them to unauthorized personnel within the Department of Government Efficiency.
“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” the groups stated in their complaint, which was lodged in federal court in the District of Columbia.
The complaint claims that the Trump administration illegally permitted Musk's team access in violation of federal laws designed to protect agency records and maintain the confidentiality of taxpayer information.
“Secretary Bessent’s action granting DOGE-affiliated individuals full, continuous, and ongoing access to that information for an unspecified period of time means that retirees, taxpayers, federal employees, companies, and other individuals from all walks of life have no assurance that their information will receive the protection that federal law affords,” the complaint asserts. “And because Defendants’ actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals will not have even basic information about what personal or financial information that Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used.”
Treasury representatives did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Democrats intensified their criticism of Musk's actions, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer labeling DOGE as “an unelected shadow government” responsible for a “hostile takeover” of federal agencies.
Schumer and Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries disclosed that they are crafting legislation designed to enhance safeguards for the confidential and personal information held within the Treasury's payment system. Meanwhile, Democratic members of the Ways and Means Committee have commenced their own investigation into DOGE's access to these financial systems.
On the same day, other Democrats condemned the Musk team's access to the Treasury as an unprecedented form of political interference in essential government operations that manage benefits for Americans, including Social Security and Medicare.
Earlier that day, President Donald Trump expressed support for Musk's initiatives when asked about his team’s access to sensitive Treasury systems.
“Elon can't do, and won't do, anything without our approval,” Trump stated from the Oval Office. “And we'll give him the approval where appropriate. Where not appropriate, we won't.”
“Where we think there's a conflict or there's a problem, we won't let him go near it,” he added, emphasizing that Musk shares his goal to “shrink government.”
Public Citizen, which is collaborating with the unions on the lawsuit, announced on Monday that it had hired former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission General Counsel Karla Gilbride, who was dismissed by the Trump administration alongside two Democratic commissioners during a recent agency purge.
“The president is not a king, and his power has limits within our Constitutional system of checks and balances — checks and balances that, at Public Citizen, I will fight every day to preserve,” Gilbride stated in a press release.
Emily Johnson for TROIB News
