Reuters :
A coalition of mostly Democratic-led US states filed a lawsuit on Friday to stop a Trump administration panel led by billionaire Elon Musk from accessing government systems used to process trillions of dollars in payments.
The 19 states led by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, claim Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency 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 programs, 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.
The White House and the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump deputized Musk to lead DOGE to identify fraud and waste in the government.
