US court hears arguments over DOGE access to inter-agency data News
The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
US court hears arguments over DOGE access to inter-agency data

The US District Court for the District of Columbia held a hearing Monday on whether the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should have access to data housed within the Bureau of Fiscal Service

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had given DOGE access to data pertaining to the millions of people who make transactions with the federal government. Monday’s hearing followed the issuance for a temporary restraining order.

DOGE is allegedly using the data as part of a “four-to-six-week engagement plan” to learn how the Bureau systems operate.” There is not a clear plan to untangle the data from other agency files.

The plaintiffs, the Alliance for Retired Americans and the American Federation of Government Employees, asserted Monday that they have associational standing because of injury to their organization, namely “the removal of protections of personal and sensitive information and that significant changes have been made to the level of access of information.”

The traceability of the injury to the alleged harm is the executive order authorizing DOGE’s actions coupled with the lack of public acknowledgement that the information would be accessed by DOGE to conduct routine governmental activities.

The Privacy Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code give citizens the right to disclose before their information is used. The plaintiffs’ counsel stressed the need to contain the data to the agency that originally holds the information.

The defendants argued that the creation of an engagement plan was not enough on its own to make out harm on a standing query, especially if the engagement plan was approved as a “final agency action” under the Administrative Procedure Act. The defendants argued that the agency could have routine uses for such data that require a disclosure to congress.

The defendant’s counsel was questioned about the constitutionality of DOGE actions under Article II sec. 2 of the US Constitution, which states that government officials are nominated by the president but must also be confirmed by the senate. Ultimately, the judge requested more information on an administrative record about the structure of the agency and who is supervising DOGE actions as they pertain to data privacy.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Rosenbergs convicted of espionage

On March 29, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of passing US atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. The couple was sentenced to death on April 3 under the Espionage Act of 1917, 18 U.S.C 794. They were then executed two years later on June 19, 1953 in New York State's Sing Sing Prison. View the FBI's files on the Rosenbergs.

British parliament passed act creating Canada

On March 29, 1867, the British Parliament passed the British North America Act, a constitutional document creating a united Dominion of Canada. It went into effect on July 1 that year.