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A federal judge has indefinitely denied the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to personal data from three federal agencies as the federal expenditure watchdog continues to cut down the size of the government.  US District Judge Deborah Boardman issued the ruling Monday to prevent the Department of Education, the Department of the Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from disclosing personal identifying information belonging to roughly two million plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit. In a 68-page opinion, Boardman discussed how the Privacy Act of 1974 was designed to prevent unauthorized data disclosure and warned against the risks of centralizing personal information.  “The defendants violated the APA by not acting in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a; that they will suffer irreparable harm if the defendants are not enjoined; and that the balance of the equities and public interest weigh favor of preliminary injunctive relief,” said the federal judge in her ruling. Preliminary injunction granted against DOGE Judge Boardman mentioned congressional concerns from the 1970s about government overreach, writing, “No matter how important or urgent the President’s DOGE agenda may be, federal agencies must execute it in accordance with the law. That likely did not happen in this case.” Six individuals, including veterans, student loan applicants, and federal employees, brought the lawsuit, arguing that DOGE’s actions violated federal privacy protections. They were joined by five labor unions representing government workers, whose members’ sensitive data was stored in agency systems accessed by DOGE. The plaintiffs convinced the court that the agencies had failed in their duty to safeguard the data, accusing them of “abandoning their duties as guardians and gatekeepers” of millions of Americans’ personal information. ‘Need-to-Know’ standard was not met In its ruling, the court found the government was unable to justify why DOGE…

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Filed under: News - @ March 24, 2025 7:24 pm