Judge green-lights DOGE to continue accessing student data
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Elon Musk delivers remarks as he joins President Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11 in Washington, DC. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
A federal district judge refused to implement a temporary restraining order barring the Department of Education from giving the Department of Government Efficiency access to student data.
The big picture: The University of California Student Association (USCA) asked the judge to block DOGE staff from accessing "sensitive personal and financial information" as the unofficial agency takes a sledgehammer to the department's contracts.
- Linda McMahon, Trump's pick to head the Department of Education, dismissed concerns about DOGE's access to student data during her confirmation hearing last week, characterizing DOGE's work as "an audit."
- USCA contended in a complaint filed earlier this month that "[t]he scale of the intrusion into individuals' privacy" amid DOGE's work in the department "is enormous and unprecedented," noting that the personal data of "over 42 million people lives in these systems."
Driving the news: Judge Randolph D. Moss, an Obama appointee in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, wrote in a court filing that the potential risks USCA identified were "entirely conjectural."
- He continued, "UCSA provides no evidence, beyond sheer speculation, that would allow the Court to infer that ED or DOGE staffers will misuse or further disseminate this information."
- He cited statements from Adam Ramada, a DOGE staffer, who said "six employees" — two of whom consider the ED their "home agency" — are assisting in "auditing contract, grant, and related programs for waste, fraud, and abuse" and identifying grants and contracts "inconsistent with leadership's policy priorities."
- Ramada attested that the six staffers understand they must comply with the law should they wish to "share any information garnered during their work" and that he does not believe any information has been shared with other "DOGE-affiliated individuals," according to court filings.
Zoom out: Several suits have similarly sought to block DOGE from accessing private information as the group dissects federal agencies from the inside.
- DOGE's access to Treasury records was restricted by two federal judges, as was the administration's attempt to put some 2,200 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on administrative leave.
- An American Federation of Teachers (AFT)-led lawsuit filed in Maryland last week alleged that DOGE access to private information at the Education and Treasury departments and the Office of Personnel Management "violates federal law."
- The suit contended the departments had "improperly disclosed" U.S. citizens' sensitive information.
Friction point: While Monday's decision handed the DOGE team a win, President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk, and others have railed against the power of courts as judges nationwide have curbed the administration's sweeping changes.
- The barrage of legal action sets the stage for several showdowns before the Supreme Court.
Go deeper: Court rulings test limits of Trump's power
