Attorney General Charity Clark today announced that a federal judge in the Southern District of New York granted her motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) just a few hours after she joined a coalition of 18 other attorneys general in suing to stop Elon Musk and his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) from accessing Americans’ private information. Elon Musk and his DOGE employees are now blocked from accessing Americans’ most sensitive personal information and must immediately destroy any and all copies of records they have already obtained.
Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury adopted a new policy that granted “special government employees,” including Elon Musk and DOGE staffers, access to its central payment system. This payment system contains Americans’ private personal data and controls vital funding that millions of Americans depend on, including Social Security payments, veterans’ benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments, and more. The payment system also controls billions of dollars that states rely on to support essential services like law enforcement, public education, health care, and critical infrastructure.
Yesterday, Attorney General Clark joined a coalition of 18 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop this unauthorized disclosure of Americans’ private information and sensitive data. Early this morning, a federal judge found that the states proved they were likely to succeed on their "particularly strong" statutory claims and would suffer irreparable harm without urgent court intervention.
Elon Musk and his DOGE employees are now blocked from accessing Americans’ most sensitive personal information and must immediately destroy any and all copies of records they have already obtained. The court will hear arguments on the coalition’s motion for a preliminary injunction on February 14, 2025.
Joining Attorney General Clark in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, 802-828-3171