24 February,EMP- A federal judge in Maryland has put a halt to President Donald Trump’s government efficiency team, led by billionaire Elon Musk, blocking it from accessing sensitive personal data held by the U.S. Education Department and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a temporary restraining order following a lawsuit from labor unions, who claimed that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had been improperly given access to private records of millions of Americans, including Social Security numbers, home addresses, and financial details.
The ruling, delivered in Greenbelt, Maryland, came after unions argued that sharing this data with DOGE violated the Privacy Act of 1974, a law designed to protect citizens’ personal information.
Judge Boardman, appointed by former President Joe Biden, agreed, stating that the agencies likely overstepped legal boundaries by granting Musk’s team broad access to records without a clear justification tied to their duties. The decision underscores a growing tension between Trump’s aggressive push to streamline government operations and concerns over privacy rights.
The Trump administration defended DOGE’s access, asserting that restricting it would hinder the president’s ability to enact his agenda through informed advising. However, Boardman’s order prioritizes safeguarding the sensitive data of federal employees and student aid recipients over the administration’s efficiency goals—at least for now.
Musk, the Tesla CEO tapped to lead DOGE, has been a central figure in Trump’s return to power, driving efforts to slash federal spending and eliminate thousands of government jobs.
Since Trump took office last month, DOGE has moved swiftly to reshape federal agencies, but its actions have sparked legal pushback. This Maryland ruling follows a similar decision in New York, where a judge, responding to 19 Democratic-led states, extended a block on DOGE’s access to Treasury Department systems managing trillions in payments.
The White House has yet to comment on the latest setback, leaving observers to wonder how Trump’s team will adjust its strategy amid mounting resistance from unions, Democratic states, and progressive legal groups—all determined to curb DOGE’s reach into government data.