Two labor unions and an advocacy group for retired union members are suing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for granting the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, headed by Elon Musk, access to Treasury's payment systems, which process Social Security and Medicare benefits.
"The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented," says the lawsuit, filed Monday by the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees and the Service Employees International Union.
The groups are asking for "declaratory and injunctive relief to halt Defendants’ unlawful ongoing, systematic, and continuous disclosure of personal and financial information contained in Defendants’ records to Elon Musk and other members" of the so-called DOGE.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to Bessent on Friday asking for answers about DOGE's access to the payment system within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
On Tuesday, Wyden along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate Bessent’s decision.
"These critical systems process trillions of dollars of transactions each year, including the timely disbursement of Social Security checks, tax refunds, and Medicare benefits, and are essential to preventing a default on federal debt," the senators said. Warren questioned Bessent on his role in providing Musk and his team access to Treasury payment systems, along with his role in ousting David Lebryk, the department’s top career official, who raised concerns about the move.
House Democrats asked President Donald Trump Tuesday in a letter to provide information by Feb. 14 on reported attempts by DOGE "to access classified and sensitive information without proper clearance," and expressed concerns that their behavior could pose enormous risks to national security.
Bessent violated restrictions on disclosure of sensitive personal financial information to those who do not need it, the unions' lawsuit states.
"Elon Musk and/or other DOGE members had sought access to the Bureau’s records for some time, only to be rebuffed by the employee then in charge of the Bureau," the suit continues.
Within a week of being sworn in, Bessent "placed that civil servant on leave and granted DOGE-affiliated individuals full access to the Bureau’s data and the computer systems that house them. He did so without making any public announcement, providing any legal justification or explanation for his decision, or undertaking the process required by law for altering the agency’s disclosure policies," the lawsuit contends.
"People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his 'DOGE,'” the lawsuit continues. "And federal law says they do not have to. The Privacy Act of 1974 generally, and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to taxpayer information, make it unlawful for Secretary Bessent to hand over access to the Bureau’s records on individuals to Elon Musk or other members of DOGE."
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