Letitia James of New York and 11 others said that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency had revealed private information and was “unlawful, unprecedented and unacceptable.”
Letitia James of New York and 11 others said that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency had revealed private information and was “unlawful, unprecedented and unacceptable.”
Letitia James of New York and 11 other state attorneys general said Thursday that they would sue over a cost-cutting initiative that had afforded young aides to Elon Musk broad access to the federal government’s most fundamental computer systems.
President Trump’s administration calls the program the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, though it is merely a unit within the executive branch, and its work has shaken Washington as its workers demand access to vast networks of sensitive information. Mr. Musk and his staff’s ability to access that information, including bank account and Social Security data, is “unlawful,” the attorneys general said in a news release.
“The president does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress,” the statement said. “This level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented and unacceptable.”
Press officials for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thursday’s move was made in concert with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont. It is Ms. James’s most recent effort to counteract parts of Mr. Trump’s sweeping agenda.
Her office, along with a coalition of 18 states, challenged Mr. Trump’s executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship. This week, she warned New York hospitals that complying with a White House executive order seeking to end gender-affirming medical care for young people could violate state law.
Ms. James is herself a target of a newly formed Weaponization Working Group in the Justice Department, which was announced in a memo this week by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Mr. Trump was found liable and ordered to pay a penalty of more than $450 million after Ms. James sued him for inflating the value of his real estate portfolio.
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