The University of California student government sued Friday to block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to government data on millions of student borrowers.
The students, represented by Public Citizen, a left-leaning consumer advocacy group, argued that DOGE’s access to the Education Department’s systems containing the personal data of over 42 million people would violate federal privacy law and the Internal Revenue Code.
“Defendants’ action granting DOGE-affiliated individuals continuous and ongoing access to that information for an unspecified period of time means that millions of Americans from all walks of life have no assurance that their sensitive information — and that of their parents and/or spouses—will receive the protection that federal law affords,” the lawsuit states.
“And because Defendants’ actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals do not have even basic information about what personal or financial information Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used,” it continues.
The Hill reached out to DOGE for comment.
DOGE has moved quickly to reshape the federal bureaucracy during Trump’s first weeks in office, gaining access to critical Treasury Department payment systems, largely dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and moving on several other federal departments.
The moves have been met with a flurry of lawsuits.
A judge this week issued an order temporarily limiting which DOGE personnel can access the Treasury systems, and Thursday night, Public Citizen filed a separate lawsuit seeking to reverse the USAID actions. A hearing is scheduled later Friday on government unions’ request to block the DOGE team from accessing Labor Department data.
The advocacy group has also sued over DOGE’s setup, arguing it doesn’t comply with applicable transparency requirements and cannot continue operating.
The newest case named the Education Department and its acting secretary as defendants. It also cited reporting from The Washington Post that DOGE staffers at the department have fed sensitive data into artificial intelligence systems to probe the agency’s spending.
The lawsuit comes as Trump indicates he wants to use executive action to eliminate the department or weaken it.
Democrats have increasingly sounded alarm, sending a series of letters demanding answers, and more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers were set to visit the department’s headquarters Friday morning.
“These are people who trusted ED with their sensitive personal information when they filled out the FAFSA and applied for federal student loans and grants, in reliance on the agency’s rules and other representations,” the complaint states.
