DOGE faces federal worker lawsuit

Business & Economy

The Big Story

Government unions sue over DOGE access to DOL

The AFL-CIO and several affiliated government employee unions sued Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency over fears that the cost-cutting unit is close to unlawfully gaining access to the Labor Department.

Musk’s team has led sweeping changes to the federal government in the initial weeks of President Trump's term, including dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and gaining access to the Treasury Department’s payment system.

“Today, they will come for the Department of Labor,” the lawsuit states, warning that it would provide Musk with nonpublic information about investigations into his companies.

The plaintiffs cited at least one Labor Department employee who was told DOGE plans to visit and “to do whatever they ask, not to push back, not to ask questions.”

The Hill reached out to the Labor Department and the White House for comment.

A flurry of legal actions have been filed against DOGE as it takes broad aim at the federal bureaucracy, claiming it is doing so without any legal authority.

“DOGE seeks to gain access to sensitive systems before courts can stop them, dismantle agencies before Congress can assert its prerogatives in the federal budget, and intimidate and threaten employees who stand in their way, worrying about the consequences later,” the complaint reads.

The Hill's Zach Schonfeld has more here.

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