Unions sue US Treasury Department for sharing confidential data with Musk agency
Federal employee unions sued the US Treasury Department on Monday for sharing confidential data with the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Alliance for Retired Americans, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed the lawsuit in a Washington, DC federal court.
According to the complaint, instead of protecting the private information of Americans as required by law, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took punitive measures against officials who sought to protect that information from improper access and allowed DOGE full access to the data.
"People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his ‘DOGE.’ And federal law says they do not have to," the lawsuit said.
The plaintiffs also demanded an end to the “systematic, continuous and ongoing violation of federal laws that protect the privacy of personal information contained in federal records."
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday called on Congress to take action to restore the rule of law.
"If the Treasury Secretary does not remove DOGE’s access to the Treasury payment systems at once: Congress must immediately act," Schumer said, adding he will work on legislation to stop "unlawful meddling" in the Treasury Department’s payment systems.
