Retirees sue to block Musk, DOGE access to personal information of millions of Americans

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/legal/retirees-sue-to-block-elon-musk-doge-access-to-medicare-social-security-systems-treasury-trump-scott-bessent-omb-usaid-privacy/65-83b17760-d1a9-4454-8f4d-5084eaf3fc3a

WASHINGTON — A coalition of retirees and government workers filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday seeking to block the Treasury Department from handing over access to milllions of Americans' personal information to billionaire Elon Musk.

Musk’s outsized, but poorly defined, role in President Donald Trump’s administration has increasingly come under fire as the advisory body he heads, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has sought access to sensitive data and federal payment systems. Musk and DOGE took responsibility Monday for the administration’s efforts to shut down USAID, which has for decades been the country’s primary method of distributing international humanitarian aid, writing on his social media site X, formerly Twitter, that he’d spent the weekend “feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”

Last week, the Associated Press reported DOGE employees had gained access to sensitive Treasury data, including Social Security and Medicare payment systems. Acting Deputy Secretary David Lebryk was reportedly placed on leave and later resigned after resisting efforts by individuals working for Musk to access those systems.

DOGE’s increasing access to sensitive federal data has set off alarm bells across the government and drawn harsh rebukes from Democrats in Congress. On Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Finance, urged the federal government’s top auditor to launch an investigation into whether Musk and DOGE were violating federal privacy laws.

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