MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont and New York are among a dozen states that have joined a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk’s access to sensitive U.S. Treasury Department payment computer systems.
Musk, who is leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, has taken a number of steps over the past two weeks to gain access to departments including Treasury, the Office of Personnel Management, and General Administration.
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark joined colleagues in a statement, saying, “As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law. The President does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.”
The AGs say Musk has no authority to access the information in order to block payments that millions of Americans rely on to support health care, childcare, and other essential programs.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request by the AP for comment Thursday afternoon.
Government officials and labor unions have been among those raising concerns about DOGE’s involvement with the payment system, 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.
Other states included in the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, and Rhode Island.