Attorneys general in 19 states, including Arizona, granted temporary restraining order over DOGE personal data access

PHOENIX — Attorneys general in 19 states, including Arizona, were granted a temporary restraining order on Saturday after they filed a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans’ sensitive personal information.

The decision, granted in the Southern District of New York, makes it so Musk and his DOGE employees cannot access Americans’ sensitive personal information. Musk and his employees are required to destroy the data and records they had already gained access to.

The next step in the proceedings will come on Friday when the court will begin to hear arguments on the coalition’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

“Early this morning we won a court order that blocks Elon Musk, the unelected billionaire attempting an administrative coupe of the federal government, from accessing Arizonans’ private personal like your Social Security numbers and veteran benefit information at the Treasury Department,” Mayes said in a press release.

“This is yet another win against the Trump administration as my office works tirelessly to protect Arizonans from the illegal and unconstitutional acts Trump attacks.”

The temporary restraining order comes after the coalition of attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last week to stop what they called an “unauthorized disclosure of Americans’ private information and sensitive data.”

Why are attorneys general taking action against DOGE?

Prior to filing the initial lawsuit, the attorneys general, including Mayes, said in a statement that they were taking action “in defense of our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on.”

Government officials and labor unions have been among those raising concerns about DOGE’s involvement with the payment system for the federal government, saying it could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Also Thursday, a federal judge ordered that two Musk allies have “read only” access to Treasury Department payment systems, but no one else will get access for now, including Musk himself. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by federal workers unions trying to stop the billionaire’s DOGE from following through on what they call a massive privacy invasion.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story stated that a federal judge granted Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes a temporary restraining order. The judge granted the coalition of attorneys general, including Arizona, a temporary restraining order.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related

Arizona to sue over DOGE access to government payment systems containing personal dataJay Feely, Amish Shah win respective primaries, will face each other for CD-1Kimberly Yee wins GOP primary for Arizona schools chief over Tom HorneMatt Orlando wins Chandler Mayor’s race as challenger Jeff Weninger concedesGov. Katie Hobbs and Andy Biggs must pick lieutenant governors ahead of Election DaySolange Whitehead takes early lead in Scottsdale City Council primary