Judge Blocks Federal Agencies From Sharing Information With DOGE

The judge wrote that there would be "irreparable harm" in not stopping Elon Musk's DOGE from accessing sensitive records.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Monday blocking certain agencies from sharing sensitive records with President Donald Trump’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE.

Several labor unions filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the Education Department and the Office of Personnel Management to prevent them from forking over data to DOGE as it seeks to fire workers, end federal contracts and unilaterally close agencies.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman of Maryland said Monday the unions were likely to succeed in their claims that the Trump administration is violating the Privacy Act of 1974.

“Specifically, the plaintiffs have shown that Education and OPM likely violated the Privacy Act by disclosing their personal information to DOGE affiliates without their consent,” Boardman, an appointee of former President Joe Biden (D), wrote in her order.

The unions say DOGE was seeking access to systems that include Social Security numbers, bank account information and other “extraordinarily sensitive records of millions of Americans.” The victims include veterans receiving benefit payments, workers with federal employment records and millions of borrowers under federal student loan programs, they allege.