DOGE Barred From Getting Department of Education Information (2)

The US Department of Education is temporarily enjoined from giving Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency information with sensitive personal information, a Maryland federal district court said Monday.

The plaintiffs—labor unions representing more than two million workers—met their burden for “the extraordinary relief they seek,” Judge Deborah L. Boardman of the US District Court for the District of Maryland said in an order partially granting a motion for a temporary restraining order.

The Office of Personnel Management is also enjoined from sharing plaintiffs’ information with certain personnel “working principally on the DOGE agenda,” according to the order, which is effective until March 10 at 8:00 a.m., the court said.

“This is a significant decision that puts a firewall between actors who we believe lack the legitimacy and authority to access Americans’ personal data and who are using it inappropriately, without any safeguards,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which is the lead plaintiff in this case. The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The unions, joined by six individually-affected plaintiffs, sued Feb. 10 alleging that President Trump’s executive orders allowed to the government to grant DOGE access to records with personally identifiable information.

They say the the government failed to engage in reasoned decisionmaking when it granted DOGE affiliates access to systems of records containing sensitive and personal data.

The plaintiffs showed that the Department of Education and OPM likely violated the Privacy Act by disclosing their personal information to DOGE without their consent, Boardman said.

The Privacy Act precludes agencies from disclosing “any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains.”

The plaintiffs didn’t request or consent to disclosure of their records to DOGE affiliates, the court said.

The government said the DOGE affiliates need access to Education Department information to audit student loan programs for waste, fraud, and abuse.

But neither the government nor DOGE have explained why DOGE affiliates need such “comprehensive, sweeping access to the plaintiffs’ records to audit student loan programs for waste, fraud, and abuse or to conduct cost-estimate analyses,” the court said.

The government may show in the future why granting such broad access to the plaintiffs’ information is necessary for DOGE affiliates to perform their duties, but the current record “indicates they do not have a need for these records,” the court said.

Boardman also said that none of the federal workplace reform measures President Trump advocates appear to require an OPM employee to access records with federal employees’ sensitive personal information.

The government failed to explain why certain OPM personnel need access to sensitive records to implement workplace reform measures, such as the deferred resignation program, the court said.

Murphy Anderson PLLC, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, American Federation of Teachers, Protect Democracy Project, and Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic represent the plaintiffs.

The case is American Federation of Teachers v. Bessent, D. Md., No. 25-cv-430, 2/24/25.