Union groups have sued the US Treasury, accusing it of breaking federal laws by giving Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency enforcers access to sensitive financial and personal information.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the country’s largest union group, sued the Treasury and Secretary Scott Bessent in a Washington, DC, federal court on Feb. 3 to stop what it alleged is an “unlawful ongoing, systematic, and continuous disclosure of personal and financial information” to Musk and DOGE.
“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” the AFL-CIO said. “People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his ‘DOGE.’”
Continue reading
The lawsuit is the latest challenge to Donald Trump’s promise to cut federal spending. He put Musk in charge of the effort with DOGE, seemingly an homage to Dogecoin (DOGE), which the billionaire has mentioned in the past.
The complaint cited a Feb. 1 Bluesky post from US Senator Ron Wyden, which said that sources had told his office that “Bessent has granted DOGE full access” to the Treasury’s payments system. A day earlier, Wyden had demanded answers from Bessent over Musk DOGE’s access to the system.