Federal Judge Skeptical DOGE Has Authority to Embed Agents Throughout Federal Government

A federal judge Friday expressed doubt that agents from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency had the authority to access wide swaths of data at the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, pushed the Justice Department to define the agents’ roles, whether DOGE was as an agency or an advisory board, and if any data was being disclosed to DOGE agents outside each agency.

Justice Department attorney Michael Gerardi struggled to provide a clear definition, suggesting that DOGE is an agency under the 1932 Economy Act, which would authorize it to “detail” or send agents to work temporarily at other agencies.

Under that definition, there is no harm from DOGE agents, temporarily employed by the Labor Department, gaining access to worker data information so long as they don’t disclose it to a third party, Gerardi said.

Aman George of Democracy Forward represents a union coalition of employees at each agency and argued that DOGE is merely an advisory board within the White House.

That status does not grant DOGE agents to demand access to all swaths of government data, nor does it empower them to cancel government contracts en masse and order the termination of agency employees, George said.

Even with the proper authorization, George said, it was paramount that the DOGE agents comply with Privacy Act requirements and other disclosure regulations considering the sensitive nature of the data.

He highlighted recent reporting by NBC News that revealed Musk approved DOGE agents to use a remote-access and file-transfer software, known as PuTTY, at the Labor Department. The technology, George said, would allow the agents to transfer vast amounts of data from the agency.

Bates previously denied the unions’ request for a temporary restraining order on Feb. 6 due to lack of standing on the limited record but said that he “harbored concern” about DOGE and Musk’s conduct in his brief order.