A powerful group of unions has declared war on the US Treasury Department, filing a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) from accessing sensitive financial and personal information yesterday.
The unions want an immediate court order slamming the brakes on Elon’s access to federal payment systems, saying the Treasury illegally handed Elon’s team the keys to the nation’s confidential data, including records tied to taxpayers, federal employees, and companies.
The lawsuit was filed after Scott Bessent, who now heads the Treasury, approved the access, which the unions are saying violates federal privacy protections and places all Americans at risk. In the lawsuit, they demand that any data already collected by D.O.G.E be retrieved and locked away for good.
Elon’s team has been on a mission to sniff out waste in government spending and drag federal tech systems into the 21st century ever since President Donald Trump signed an executive order for D.O.G.E on Jan. 22nd.
Treasury payment systems at the center of controversy
According to the union’s lawsuit, those systems process more than 1.2 billion federal transactions annually, covering everything from Social Security benefits to Medicare payments and defense contracts.
The complaint claims that Elon’s access was granted just after David Lebryk, Treasury’s acting Deputy Secretary, suddenly quit after working in the Treasury for years, helping oversee its payment processes. The unions are using his departure as evidence that something isn’t right.
“Our members’ privacy is being violated, and once that damage is done, you can’t undo it,” their court filing said. Treasury officials aren’t exactly scrambling to apologize. In fact, they’re defending the decision, claiming Elon’s team only has “read-only” access to “coded data.”
According to a report from Fox Business, a Treasury spokesperson told Congress that the access is necessary for operational reviews but won’t impact payments or give D.O.G.E control over the system. “No valid payment requests have been blocked or delayed,” they said.
Congress demands answers on Elon’s growing power
Democrats in Congress, led by Senator Patty Murray, are coming down hard on the Treasury for letting Elon’s hands anywhere near government finances. “Why should we believe them when Elon is bragging on X (formerly Twitter) that D.O.G.E could shut down payments to organizations he doesn’t like?” Murray asked.
She was referring to Elon’s online posts suggesting that D.O.G.E could halt payments to a Lutheran charity if it wanted to. Treasury’s defense? Tom Krause, the CEO of Cloud Software Group and a key member of D.O.G.E, is working as a special government employee under less strict ethical guidelines than full-time federal employees.
Treasury Secretary Bessent says Krause’s role is standard and involves reviewing payment systems to make them more efficient. “He has read-only access, similar to external auditors,” the Treasury’s statement reads.
Rep. Maxwell Frost took it further by showing up at the Treasury, demanding the same access Elon’s team got. “We’re here on behalf of our constituents,” Frost posted on X. “Let us in.” His stunt didn’t work. Steven Cheung, White House communications director, mocked him in fact, calling him “just another example of Democrats chasing social media clout instead of solving problems.”
