A federal judge in New York has rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit that accused the Department of Government Efficiency of accessing databases containing personal information for millions of federal workers.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote for the Southern District of New York denied in part the administration’s motion to dismiss. In a 37-page ruling, she agreed that the Office of Personnel Management illegally disclosed highly personal data, such as Social Security numbers, and health and financial records, to DOGE officials. Cote, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled the lawsuit can proceed with the goal of stopping such disclosure and requiring that any shared information be returned.
President Donald Trump has tasked DOGE, led by Elon Musk, to streamline the federal government by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.
Cote ruled that current and former federal employees “may pursue their request for injunctive relief under the APA [Administrative Procedure Act]. … The defendants’ Kafkaesque argument to the contrary would deprive the plaintiffs of any recourse under the law.”
“The complaint plausibly alleges that actions by OPM were not representative of its ordinary day-to-day operations but were, in sharp contrast to its normal procedures, illegal, rushed, and dangerous,” Cote wrote adding, “The complaint adequately pleads that the DOGE Defendants ‘plainly and openly crossed a congressionally drawn line in the sand.’ “
In February, current and former federal employees and their unions sued the OPM over breach of privacy alleging that data within the agency’s databases was illegally obtained by DOGE officials.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, a Joe Biden appointee, barred the OPM and two other federal agencies from revealing the personal information of roughly 2 million plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The lawsuit argued that the breach of records by DOGE violated the federal Privacy Act of 1974, which governs federal agencies’ access, use, and disclosure of individuals’ information.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union for federal employees, applauded the decision.
“Elon Musk and his DOGE cronies have no business rifling through sensitive data stored at OPM, period,” Kelley said. “AFGE and our allies fought back – and won – because we will not compromise when it comes to protecting the privacy and security of our members and the American people they proudly serve.”
Newsmax reached out to the Trump administration for comment.
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