The 19 states led by the office of New York attorney-general Letitia James, a Democrat, claim Musk’s department of government efficiency (DOGE) has no legal power to access the US department of treasury systems that contain personal information on millions of Americans.
The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court says Musk and his team could disrupt federal funding for health clinics, preschools, climate initiatives, and other programmes, and that Republican President Donald Trump could use the information to further his political agenda.
DOGE’s access to the system also “poses huge cybersecurity risks that put vast amounts of funding for the states and their residents in peril,” the attorneys-general said.
Trump deputised Musk to lead DOGE to identify fraud and waste in the government. Musk’s efforts have alarmed Democrats and advocacy groups who say he is overstepping his authority by seeking to dismantle agencies responsible for critical government programmes and fire federal workers en masse.
The lawsuit names Trump and the treasury department as defendants. James was joined by the attorneys-general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, and New Jersey, among other states.
In a separate lawsuit by unions claiming Musk’s team is violating privacy laws by accessing the payment systems, a federal judge on Thursday ordered the treasury to limit access to two “special government employees” and said their access must be read-only.
Lawsuits also have been filed seeking to block DOGE from accessing data at the US department of labor and the department of education.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, a Trump appointee, said this week that the department’s payment system will not be touched by Musk and that any decisions to stop payments would be made by other agencies.
In Friday’s lawsuit, New York and the other states claim that allowing DOGE access to the payment system violates a federal law requiring agencies to conduct “privacy impact assessments” before using technology that collects or disseminates information, and unlawfully usurps the powers of Congress.
The states also accused Trump of violating his constitutional duty to faithfully execute federal laws, among other claims.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order barring DOGE from accessing Treasury systems pending further litigation.