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.
The federal court granted a temporary restraining order on February 8, 2025, blocking Elon Musk and DOGE from accessing Americans’ personal information via the Treasury Department’s central payment system and ordering the immediate destruction of all copies of records obtained. The coalition of 12 attorneys general is seeking a preliminary injunction to continue barring unauthorized access to the personal data.
In-house legal teams should review all contracts with government agencies, particularly those involving access to personal information such as Social Security numbers or bank account details. Key clauses to update include data access authorization (ensuring only permitted parties have access), data destruction requirements, breach notification for unauthorized government access, and restrictions on third-party access to personal data. Vendor contracts processing personal data for government clients should also include requirements to comply with court orders to destroy data and block unauthorized access.
Entity
Trump administration
Also known as: Trump Administration
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-and-11-attorneys-general-release-joint-statement-lawsuit
qiWMlCM6dYTi558 AVjyUPZuYsOuu3g0VrmLhOC3G8g=392 ;JSUlJSU!!Ke
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:*2F*2Fag.ny.gov*2Fpress-release*2F2025*2Fattorney-general-james-leads-multistate-coalition-suing-stop-elon-musk-and-doges/1/0100019505af0aec-9612a18b-4c6a-4d84-ae22-f52e57c39124-000000/qiWMlCM6dYTi558-AVjyUPZuYsOuu3g0VrmLhOC3G8g=392__;JSUlJSU!!Ke5ujdWW74OM!-uK6F1-2mIefZ4niyf83H3HtkBUFcAY6UoVyPE3AD9lImki6EV-mWfWr-97u_7ZwxOCi_ZzylBlWnUE_wFo_lr17xcFJGZR9oMjclabAtR_8$
G9N9CmwMH4iKpIlNwAjfL3tmsCAt4lkMkNFrSVkqvJc=392 ;JSUlJSU!!Ke
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:*2F*2Fag.ny.gov*2Fpress-release*2F2025*2Fattorney-general-james-releases-statement-swift-victory-lawsuit-stopping-doges-0/1/0100019505af0aec-9612a18b-4c6a-4d84-ae22-f52e57c39124-000000/G9N9CmwMH4iKpIlNwAjfL3tmsCAt4lkMkNFrSVkqvJc=392__;JSUlJSU!!Ke5ujdWW74OM!-uK6F1-2mIefZ4niyf83H3HtkBUFcAY6UoVyPE3AD9lImki6EV-mWfWr-97u_7ZwxOCi_ZzylBlWnUE_wFo_lr17xcFJGZR9oMjclQeSVpMH$
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"Trump administration"
"The Constitution gives Congress – not the President – primary control over federal spending."
"illegally granting Elon Musk and members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to Americans’ private information"
"unauthorized access to the Social Security numbers, bank account information, and other private data of tens of millions of Americans"
"got into our nation’s central payment system in the Treasury Department, giving them unauthorized access to the Social Security numbers, bank account information, and other private data of tens of millions of Americans"
"February 8"
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.
$17.1B
Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of 50 other attorneys general secured a landmark settlement with Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) worth up to $17.1 billion to address the company's harmful and addictive features targeting minors on Facebook and Instagram. The settlement requires Meta to implement significant changes, including age verification, time limits for minors, restrictions on notifications, and options to opt out of algorithmic feeds, along with monetary payments to states for mental health and education programs.
$3.3M
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a multistate settlement with Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum, and Hickman's Egg Ranch for illegally coordinating to influence a daily price index for eggs, artificially inflating prices for retailers and consumers nationwide. The companies will deliver 53 million eggs to food banks across 17 participating states, pay a combined $3.3 million, and adopt compliance measures to prevent future violations.
$2.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with four other states and the FTC, settled with Zillow and Redfin after they entered an illegal agreement to stop competing in the multifamily rental advertising market. Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its advertising business and exclusively display Zillow's listings. The settlement requires the companies to resume competing and pay $2 million.
$400K
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured $400,000 from Thirty Madison, Inc., an online medication provider, for misleading consumers about auto-renewing subscriptions and making cancellation difficult. The company failed to clearly disclose subscription terms and non-refundable fees, and required multiple steps to cancel. The settlement requires payment, refunds to eligible subscribers, and changes to subscription practices.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 22 attorneys general plus Pennsylvania secured a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from seizing the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of 17 million commercial drivers nationwide, including nearly 500,000 New Yorkers. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the TRO, preventing the federal government from accessing the data or cutting off access to the critical database.