Appeals Court Rules that DOGE Can Access Sensitive Federal Data of Millions, Reversing Injunction Issued Earlier this Year

An appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can access sensitive federal data of millions of Americans, reversing a temporary injunction that was issued earlier this year. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled in a 2-1 decision that unions looking to bar DOGE from accessing sensitive data at the Treasury Department, Office of Personnel Management and Department of Education were unlikely to succeed on the merits as they argued the move would be a violation of federal privacy laws. 

“As we will explain, adding ‘likelihood’ to the merits analysis creates a probabilistic structure that stacks the deck against a plaintiff who must prevail on multiple independent issues to prevail overall,” Judge Julius N. Richardson, an appointee of President Trump, wrote for the majority. 

Read more at The Hill