(The Lion) — The newly created Department of Government Efficiency has been temporarily blocked from accessing sensitive data from the Education Department after a federal district judge ruled granting DOGE “sweeping access” to personal records was likely unlawful.
The agency, created by President Donald Trump through an executive order and spearheaded by Elon Musk, has been on a crusade to cut out waste in the federal government and “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
Yet a coalition of labor unions has sued, arguing the Education Department and the Office of Personnel Management – the government’s human resources agency – had unlawfully granted DOGE access to sensitive records that contained “personally identifiable information.”
“The plaintiffs have made a clear showing that they are likely to suffer irreparable harm
without injunctive relief,” U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote in a two-week temporary restraining order on Monday.
“DOGE affiliates have been granted access to systems of record that contain some of the plaintiffs’ most sensitive data – Social Security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses, income and assets, citizenship status, and disability status – and their access to this trove of personal information is ongoing. There is no reason to believe their access to this information will end anytime soon because the government believes their access is appropriate.”
Boardman blocked both the Education Department and the Office of Personnel Management from disclosing the plaintiffs’ records to DOGE, noting the government had not been able to explain why DOGE had a “need-to-know” the sensitive information.
The government argued restraining DOGE would harm the public interest because it would “limit the President’s ability to effectuate the policy choices the American people elected him to pursue by limiting his advisors and other employees’ ability to access information necessary to inform that policy.”
But Boardman responded in her ruling that limiting the disclosure of sensitive data would “not prevent the President from effectuating the administration’s policies.”
“It may be that, with additional time, the government can explain why granting such broad access to the plaintiffs’ personal information is necessary for DOGE affiliates at Education to do their jobs, but for now, the record before the Court indicates they do not have a need for these records in the performance of their duties,” the restraining order notes.
Despite the court setback, both Trump and Musk have been touting a new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll that found widespread public support for slashing government spending and DOGE. The poll found 60% of respondents agreed Musk’s DOGE was “helping make major cuts in government expenditures.” Nearly three in four respondents agreed there should be a federal agency dedicated to efficiency initiatives.
Trump in recent days has been praising the spending cuts and even saying he wants Musk to get “more aggressive.”
“Remember, we have a country to save,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “but ultimately, to make greater than ever before.”
