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Alliance for Retired Americans, AFGE, and SEIU v. Bessent

In his first week as Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent gave Elon Musk’s “DOGE” full access to the data of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service and computer systems that house the data. He did so without making any public announcement, providing any legal justification or explanation for his decision, or undertaking the process required by law for altering the agency’s disclosure policies. The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented. Millions of people cannot avoid engaging in financial transactions with the federal government and, therefore, cannot avoid having their sensitive personal and financial information maintained in government records. Secretary Bessent’s action granting DOGE-affiliated individuals full, continuous, and ongoing access to that information for an unspecified period of time means that retirees, taxpayers, federal employees, companies, and other individuals from all walks of life have no assurance that their information will receive the protection that federal law affords. And because Defendants’ actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals will not have even basic information about what personal or financial information that Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used.

On behalf of the Alliance for Retired Americans, American Federation of Government Employees, and Service Employees International Union, we filed suit on February 3, 3025, with co-counsel at State Democracy Defenders Fund. As the complaint explains, people who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with DOGE, and federal law says they do not have to. The Privacy Act of 1974 generally, and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to taxpayer information, make it unlawful for Secretary Bessent to hand over access to the Bureau’s records on individuals to Musk or other members of DOGE. The complaint seeks to stop Defendants’ systematic, continuous, and ongoing violation of federal laws that protect the privacy of personal information contained in federal records. On February 5, we filed a motion for a temporary restraining order. On February 6, the court entered a consent order preventing improper disclosure of personal data pending further proceedings.