19 country Sue to stop the Dodge from access to Americans’ personal data – public radio in South Carolina

General nineteen democratic lawyers brought President Donald Trump on Friday to stop the Elon Musk Government Ministry from access to access to the Ministry of Finance, which contain sensitive personal data such as social security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.

The case brought to the Federal Court in New York is alleged that the Trump administration allowed the access to the Musk team to the Central Payment System of the Ministry of Finance in violation of the federal law.

The payment system processes tax reimbursement, social security benefits, veterans benefits and many others, sending trillions of dollars each year, while containing an extensive network of Americans’s personal and financial data.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

The Ministry of the Musk Government, also known as Dog, was created to detect and eliminate what the Trump administration considers to be wasteful government costs. DOG’s access to the Ministry of Finance’s records, as well as his inspection of various government agencies, have ignited widely concerned with critics about the growing power of Musca as supporters cheered on the idea of ​​redirecting government finance.

Musk is making fun of Dodge criticism in his social media platform, while saying he saves taxpayers millions of dollars.

New York General James James, whose office has filed a case, said DOG’s access to the Ministry of Finance is raising security problems and the possibility of illegal freezing in federal funds.

“This selected group, led by the most rich person in the world, is not authorized to have this information. They have explicitly sought this unauthorized access to illegally blocking payments that millions of Americans, healthcare payments, care for children and other major programs, “James said in a video message posted by her office.

James, a Democrat, who was one of Trump’s main antagonists, said the president does not have the authority to give private information to the American to anyone he chose and he cannot reduce federal payments approved by Congress.

In the case are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaer, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Road Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

The claim claims that DOG’s access to finance data may prevent the funding, which has already been seized by the congress, which will exceed the legal body of the Ministry of Finance. The case also argues that the Dogi’s department violates the federal administrative law and the division of the doctrine of the Parliament into the US Constitution.

He also accuses the Minister of Finance Scott Bensten of changing the long -standing policy of the Division for Protection of Sensitive Personal Information and Financial Information to allow the Musk Doge team to have access to his payment systems.

“This decision failed to take into account the legal obligations to protect such data and ignore the confidentiality expectations of the recipients of the Federal Fund,” including countries, veterans, retirees and taxpayers, the lawsuit said.

Connecticut Prosecutor William Tong said it was not clear what Dog is doing with the cashier information.

“This is the biggest violation of data in American history,” Tong said in a statement. “Doge is an illegally composed tape of Renegade Tech Bros, collection through confidential records, sensitive data and critical payment systems. What can go wrong?”

The Ministry of Finance said the review was to evaluate the integrity of the system and that no changes were being made. According to two people familiar with the process, Musk’s team has begun its investigation, looking for ways to stop payments made by the US International Development Agency, which Trump and Musk are trying to dismantle. The two spoke with the Associated Press, provided for anonymity of fear of revenge.

Separately, democratic legislators are looking for an investigation from the Ministry of Finance of DOG access to the government payment system.

Also, unions and advocacy groups have filed a claim to block the review of the payment system regarding fears about its legality. A Judge in Washington on Thursday temporarily limited access to two employees with privileges “reading only”.

Copyright 2025 NPR