Press Release  AG Campbell Challenges DOGE's Unauthorized Access To Americans' Private Data

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s decision to grant the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”), led by Elon Musk, access to the private and sensitive financial information of the many millions of entities and people that receive payments from the federal government. 

The lawsuit asserts that the Trump Administration illegally provided Musk and DOGE unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, impacting the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and untold millions of its residents. The impermissible access encompasses sensitive state, corporate and personal information, including bank account details, tax information, and Social Security numbers. The coalition highlights that DOGE and Musk have publicly stated their intent to use this access to block federal funds flowing by law to states and programs providing health care, childcare and other critical services.  

With this lawsuit, the coalition of attorneys general is seeking to stop the Trump Administration’s new policy that illegally grants DOGE, Musk, and others access to Americans’ confidential information and the U.S. Treasury’s payment systems.  

“The President does not have the authority to disclose private information or block a federal payment whenever he wants, and he has even less authority to give an unelected billionaire that power,” said AG Campbell. “This lawsuit is a fight to hold the President accountable to the rule of law while protecting the privacy of our residents and the flow of federal dollars to the Commonwealth.” 

Beginning February 2, 2025, the Trump administration’s Treasury Department adopted a new policy that grants “special government employees,” including Elon Musk and members of DOGE, access to its central payment system operated by the Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS). This central payment system controls vital funding that millions of Americans depend on, including Social Security payments, veteran’s benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments, and more. The payment system also controls billions of dollars that states rely on to support essential services like law enforcement, public education, and infrastructure repairs.  

Until recent days, access to BFS had been limited to a select group of career civil servants with the appropriate security clearances. AG Campbell and the coalition assert the Treasury Department’s new policy, which expands access to BFS’s payment system, violates the law, jeopardizes Americans’ most sensitive personal information, and would allow Musk and other unauthorized political appointees to freeze federal funds with the click of a button in violation of the Constitution.  

Through filing the lawsuit, AG Campbell and the coalition are seeking an injunction to stop this expanded access and to bar the misuse of the BFS information. The coalition also seeks a declaration that the Treasury Department’s policy change is unlawful and unconstitutional.  

Joining Attorney General Campbell in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

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