Federal judge hands Musk’s DOGE a win on data access at 3 agencies
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency can continue to access sensitive records from at least three federal agencies after a federal judge in Washington denied a request to block Musk's budget-slashing team from the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
U.S. District Judge John Bates, in a late-night ruling, denied a request made by a group of unions and nonprofits to issue a temporary order blocking DOGE from the sensitive records maintained by the three agencies.
Elon Musk has repeatedly targeted Bates over the last week on X – including calling for the judge's impeachment – after Bates issued a decision in another case ordering multiple agencies to restore public health data after the Trump administration suddenly removed it.
"There needs to be an immediate wave of judicial impeachments, not just one," Musk wrote on Wednesday in response to a post about the judge.
The tech billionaire celebrated Friday's ruling in a post on X .
The judge's decision came down to the question of whether DOGE has the authority to "detail" its people to individual parts of the federal government where – as employees of that department or agency – the individuals associated with DOGE could legally access the sensitive records. To have that authority, DOGE would have to be considered an "agency" in the eyes of the law, Bates wrote.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that DOGE is not an agency -- because it was created via an executive order -- and therefore is not entitled to detail its employees to parts of the federal government.
Curiously, lawyers for DOGE have attempted to avoid the "agency" label during court hearings despite its "strong claim" to agency status, Bates wrote.
"This appears to come from a desire to escape the obligations that accompany agencyhood" -- such as being subject to the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedures Act -- "while reaping only its benefits," the judge wrote.
Ultimately, the disagreed with DOGE's own interpretation of its status -- determining it likely is an "agency" -- and delivering it a surprise win by determining that DOGE has the authority to continue to access to sensitive records.
"For the reasons explained above, on the record as it currently stands and with limited briefing on the issue, the case law defining agencies indicates that plaintiffs have not shown a substantial likelihood that [DOGE] is not an agency. If that is so, [DOGE] may detail its employees to other agencies consistent with the Economy Act," he wrote.
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A very unusual ruling.
This judge believes a President can set up a volunteer agency and that agency is valid.
I guess we'll take it.
Trump did not create or set up the structure of DOGE within the Bureaucracy. Obama did. DOGE is simply a rename for the Obama created and congress funded united states digital service. Obama set it up as an IT oversight body with access to all federal systems. All trump did was slightly change its mission.
I'll wait for the left to call Obama an authoritarian, creating a Constitutional crisis and trying to start a coup. s/
Who am I kidding. They will say Obama's program was the best thing since sliced bread.
Obama’s program was, of course, perfect. When trump renamed it, it immediately became worse than anything Hitler did.
Gee, I wonder what they don’t want the people to find.
Grift? Waste? Outright theft?
Can’t have the lowly peasants knowing what the government is doing.
Yep, gotta keep the unwashed masses in the dark.
Not pretending to understand it totally but on the face of it I am not crazy about it.
1. It almost seems like they are trying to be the wild west without any rules or transparency through the freedom of information act.
2. I have an issue with anyone having access to sensitive records without any background checks at all.
While I think what they are doing is admirable I am not thinking I want them to go off half assed like it seems they are.
Really have to agree with you. I don't believe anybody can honestly say there's no waste or fraud in the federal government but like you I have some issues with how it's being done.
Add to this that DOGE is covered under the Presidential Records act which means the records are sealed for five years after Trump leaves office.
Me too, I voiced my concern when this first began as Musk having access to contracts and numbers paid to his competitors while his companies continue to have government contracts of their own. Seems to be a conflict of interest to me.
I'm not the craziest about it either, but if it is not done now, when?
We all know damn well that if this were a democratic admin, we would just keep getting deeper and deeper into debt. If anything, Trump can reduce the deficit for the annual budget and reduce some of the debt we have incurred.
What the left is bitching about is not that they are finding waste and abuse, it is that they are looking for it at all. Their little money laundering schemes are being found out and hopefully stopped for good.
Any fraud and abuse uncovered and those responsible actually held responsible will be a plus for America. Just holding people accountable is the first step.
Except just reducing the deficit does nothing to reduce the debt. Any deficit amount has to be borrowed to be paid for, it's like using credit card A to pay off credit card B. It doesn't reduce or eliminate the debt, just moves it around. We need to actually eliminate the deficit and start to reduce the debt.
That is basically what I am saying. Maybe I did not opine on it clearly.
My apologies.