Attorney General Aaron M. Frey joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop the unauthorized disclosure of Americans’ private information and sensitive data. The lawsuit asserts that the Trump administration illegally provided Elon Musk and the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, and therefore to Americans’ most sensitive personal information, including bank account details and Social Security numbers. This expanded access could allow Musk and his team to block federal funds to states and programs providing health care, childcare, and other critical services. With this lawsuit, the coalition of attorneys general is seeking to stop the Trump administration’s new policy that illegally grants DOGE, Musk, and others access to Americans’ confidential information and the U.S. Treasury’s payment systems.
“In violation of clearly established law, President Trump has granted Elon Musk and an unknown group of associates a green light to blow through statutory confidentiality protections for personal identifying information held by the federal government,” said Frey. “This unlawful access to confidential information by an unelected billionaire and his anonymous team has not only raised significant concern and anxiety by those whose information may be compromised, but it also is just another demonstration of the complete disregard for the rule of law by this presidential administration – and we are not even through week three.”
Americans have a right to believe that their private information given to file taxes or seek healthcare will be kept safe
Beginning February 2, 2025, the Trump administration’s Treasury Department adopted a new policy that grants “special government employees,” including Elon Musk and members of DOGE, access to its central payment system operated by the Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS). This central payment system controls vital funding that millions of Americans depend on, including Social Security payments, veteran’s benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments, and more. The payment system also controls billions of dollars that states rely on to support essential services like law enforcement, public education, and infrastructure repairs.
Access to BFS is limited by federal law to a select group of career civil servants with the appropriate security clearances. Attorney General Frey and the coalition assert the Treasury Department’s new policy, which expands access to BFS’s payment system, violates the law, jeopardizes Americans’ most sensitive personal information, and would allow Elon Musk and other unauthorized political appointees to access a system that could permit them to freeze federal funds with the click of a button in violation of the Constitution.
With this lawsuit, Attorney General Frey and the coalition of attorneys general are seeking an injunction preventing the Trump administration from continuing its new policy of expanded access to BFS’s payment system, as well as a declaration that the Treasury Department’s policy change is unlawful and unconstitutional.
Joining Attorney General Frey in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Original source can be found here.