Donald Trump gives Elon Musk, DOGE ‘unchecked legal authority’ to access Treasury systems, US states say in lawsuit

Billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have been hit with several privacy lawsuits over their access to government computer systems.

A group of state attorneys general on Thursday moved courts to halt Musk's efforts to cut federal spending as head of President Donald Trump's new government efficiency agency.

Attorneys general of New Mexico and 13 other states filed a lawsuit in Washington, DC, federal court, alleging that Trump has given Musk "unchecked legal authority" without authorisation from the US Congress.

It also said Musk was illegally appointed and sought an order barring him from taking any further government action.

"Oblivious to the threat this poses to the nation, President Trump has delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress and without meaningful supervision of his activities," the states said.

Musk's government cost-cutting team has swept through federal agencies since Trump became president last month.

Two judges will consider on Friday whether Musk's DOGE will have access to Treasury Department payment systems and potentially sensitive data at health, consumer protection and labour agencies.

In Manhattan, US District Judge will consider a request by Democratic state attorneys general to extend a temporary block on DOGE that he put in place on Saturday, which prevented Musk's team from accessing Treasury systems.

The DOGE has no legal power to access the payment systems that contain sensitive personal information on millions of Americans, said the states.

In Washington, the district court will consider a plea by unions to prevent the DOGE from accessing sensitive records at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Labor Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

On Thursday, a similar group of Democratic attorneys general sued Musk, Trump and DOGE, alleging that Musk's appointment was unconstitutional.

They asked a judge in Washington to bar him from accessing and using government data, cancelling contracts or making personnel decisions, among other things.