Democratic AGs Sue to Block DOGE Data Collection

The office of New York AG Letitia James (D) told us Friday that the statutes DOGE has potentially violated will be detailed in the lawsuit. James issued a statement Thursday with AGs from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island and Vermont. “This level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented, and unacceptable,” the AGs said. “DOGE has no authority to access this information.”

DOGE reportedly gained access to Treasury Department payment systems and information related to health care, veteran and disability benefits. A White House official said earlier this week that Musk and DOGE are in “full compliance” with federal law and have “appropriate security clearances” (see 2502050046).

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told us lawmakers are asking “legitimate” questions about what data was accessed and who handled it. “I am looking into it. I know it’s supposedly read-only data,” he said, referring to a federal judge’s order restricting DOGE to "read-only access.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters that President Donald Trump has granted Musk authority “far beyond what I think is appropriate.” She questioned the legality of DOGE reportedly blocking funds Congress appropriated under her Better Energy Storage Technology Act. She noted, however, the Biden administration diverted federal funding earmarked for the southern border wall.

Congressional Democrats are exploring potential violations of the Privacy Act and the Federal Information Security Management Act. Musk “has no official or legal authorization to scan or collect and monetize this information,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told us. “It’s all information submitted in trust. He has no right or legal power to read it and scan it.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg on Thursday that “there’s a lot of misinformation out there.” A pair of Treasury Department employees are reviewing read-only data and are only authorized to make suggested changes to the Federal Reserve, not to make changes on their own, he said. Bessent added that DOGE is one of the most important government audits he has seen in his lifetime: “There are gigantic cost savings for the American people here. It’s unfortunate the way the media wants to lampoon what is going on. These are highly trained professionals.”

A cybersecurity scholar said Thursday that the DOGE operation creates “ideal” conditions for cybersecurity or data privacy breaches on a mass scale. Richard Forno, a computer science professor at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, said the mass vulnerability has been created through DOGE’s broad mandate, “seemingly nonexistent oversight,” and “apparent lack of operational competence.”

Musk effectively gained control of U.S. payment systems, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee have requested a hearing so they can investigate and independently verify Musk’s claims about data security, she said.

“Is there anything that he continues to do in regard to these agencies that is allowed?” said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M. “I think the courts are going to respond to him very soon.”

There are questions about Musk and DOGE staffers carrying out official government business in non-official roles, House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told us Friday. It seems DOGE is operating without any formal government process in place, he said: “The public wants to know.”

House Judiciary Committee Democrats on Friday wrote U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, asking DOJ to investigate whether Musk violated federal ethics laws. Musk's multi-billion-dollar federal contracts at various companies he owns make him ineligible to operate in a government capacity due to conflicts of interest, they said.