Bonta is one in all 13 Democratic attorneys basic who vowed a day earlier to take authorized motion.
“President Trump has no constitutional, statutory or regulatory authority to expand unauthorized access to the payment system for political appointees or special government employees, no matter how wealthy they are or how many companies they’ve led,” Bonta mentioned.
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Friday night.
Musk, the world’s richest man, was picked by President Donald Trump to shrink the scale of the U.S. authorities.
Along with seizing taxpayer information and showing to shut the U.S. Company for Worldwide Improvement, DOGE has gained entry to delicate fee information throughout the Treasury Division.
The Treasury Division’s fee system is “critical, sensitive and undeniably vital to the economic stability and security of our nation, which is why federal law strictly limits access to a select group of civil servants who have appropriate clearances,” Bonta mentioned.
The attorneys basic go well with seeks a direct finish to “this dangerous access” and to “permanently prevent political appointees, special government employees or employees outside of the Treasury Department” from accessing the info, Bonta mentioned.
“It’s unclear all that Musk and his team would do with this expanded access, but we know what they could do,” Bonta mentioned. “With a click of a button, they could block federal funds for health care, child care and other critical services,” he continued. “They could interfere with billions of dollars that states rely on for law enforcement, public education and infrastructure repairs.”
“We can’t wait around and see what DOGE does with our data,” Bonta mentioned. “We need to protect it now.”
Becoming a member of Bonta within the lawsuit had been the attorneys basic of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The Related Press contributed to this report. Test again for updates.
Initially Printed: February 7, 2025 at 6:57 PM PST
