Federal Judge Denies Motion to Block DOGE’s Access to Labor Department Systems

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk arrives to the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 20, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Pool via Reuters/File Photo

A federal judge rejected a motion on Friday seeking to prevent the Labor Department from giving the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to its sensitive information systems.

U.S. District Judge John Bates stated that while the court harbors concerns about DOGE’s alleged conduct to access the data, the plaintiffs have not demonstrated legal standing to pursue the lawsuit.

“This data includes the medical and financial records of millions of Americans. But on the current record, plaintiffs have failed to establish standing,” Bates stated in his nine-page ruling.

The motion, filed by a coalition of labor unions on Feb. 5, alleged that DOGE, an advisory committee led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, lacked the statutory authority to access confidential systems.

The plaintiffs include the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank based in Washington.

The unions argued that DOGE violated multiple laws by having access to sensitive systems, including those at the Treasury Department and Office of Personnel Management, as they expected the Labor Department to be the next target.

“On information and belief, the pattern will be the same: they will demand that DOGE staff be granted access to systems that they are legally barred from; they will fire any employee who protects the integrity of those systems; and they will claim power and authority that Congress has never granted them with respect to agency staff and Department programs,” the unions alleged in the court filing.

“Contrary to its statutory and regulatory obligations, the Department of Labor and its current leadership are acceding to this takeover, ordering department employees to give DOGE access to whatever they ask for regardless of security protocols—or risk termination,” they added.

The unions alleged that DOGE will gain access to information about the Labor Department’s investigations into Musk’s corporate interests, as well as his competitors’ sensitive trade secret information held by the department.

Commenting on the court’s decision, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said the unions will provide more evidence to support its claims and renew efforts to block DOGE from accessing the data.

“This is a setback, but not a defeat,” Shuler said in a statement on Feb. 7.

Democratic lawmakers have been calling for the revocation of DOGE’s access to federal payment systems. On Feb. 6, attorneys general from 14 states said the level of access granted to Musk to Americans’ personal data was “unlawful” and “unacceptable.” They announced plans to take legal action to block DOGE from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment systems.

The attorneys general argued that President Donald Trump “does not have the power” to grant DOGE access to Americans’ private information or to withhold federal payments approved by Congress.

Justice Department attorneys issued a proposed order on Feb. 5 saying the federal government will temporarily restrict DOGE from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system and allow special government employees “read-only” access to the data.

“The Defendants will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service,” the government lawyers said.

DOGE has been tasked with reviewing agencies for potential reductions of federal expenditures and to boost government efficiency. Trump had previously said that Musk would not be able to take any action without approval from the White House, and the government “won’t let him go near it” if there is a conflict of interest.

Zachary Stieber and Stacy Robinson contributed to this report.