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Enforcement ActionLow RiskMultistate

NY AG Sues Trump Administration Over Unauthorized Treasury Data Access

Trump administrationFebruary 7, 2025New York Attorney General

Summary

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 19 states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for illegally granting Elon Musk and DOGE access to the Treasury's payment system, exposing Americans' sensitive personal information. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to halt this policy and a declaration that it is unlawful and unconstitutional.

Remedy

The coalition is seeking an injunction to prevent expanded access to the Treasury payment system and a declaratory judgment that the policy change is unlawful and unconstitutional.

Injunction

Contract Impact

In-house legal teams should review all contracts with government entities, federal contractors, and vendors handling U.S. Treasury data or sensitive personal information. Focus on clauses governing data access rights, security clearance requirements, compliance with federal data protection laws, and restrictions on third-party disclosures. Specific clauses to scrutinize include data security protocols, audit rights, breach notification obligations, and limitations on sub-contractor access. Contracts may need amendments to explicitly prohibit unauthorized access to federal payment systems, require immediate reporting of security incidents involving Treasury data, and mandate adherence to federal access control standards. Vendors with access to government financial systems should be required to certify compliance with Treasury Department security policies and undergo regular independent audits.

Contract Search Terms

data access authorizationfederal system compliancesensitive data protectionunauthorized disclosure clausesecurity clearance requirementsgovernment employee restrictionsaudit rights for government dataconfidential information safeguardsTreasury payment system accessdata handling addendum

Violation Types

Entity Details

Entity

Trump administration

Also known as: Trump Administration

Industry

Other

Multistate Coalition

Official Sources

Related Enforcement Actions

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New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 11 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for illegally granting Elon Musk and DOGE unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, exposing Social Security numbers, bank account information, and other private data of tens of millions of Americans. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order on February 8, 2025, blocking access and ordering destruction of all obtained records, with the coalition seeking a preliminary injunction to continue the bar on unauthorized access.

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