A new lawsuit has been filed to prevent DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency established by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, from accessing sensitive taxpayer information held by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). On Monday, four groups took legal action in federal court, aiming to block DOGE from obtaining this data.
Over the weekend, multiple news outlets reported that DOGE tried to get access to an IRS payment system that contains detailed financial information about taxpayers, businesses, and nonprofits. Reports from Monday said that the IRS is planning to give this access to Gavin Kliger, a software engineer from DOGE, who arrived at the IRS last week.
The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Taxpayer Rights, Main Street Alliance, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), and Communications Workers of America (CWA), claims DOGE does not have the legal right to view these sensitive records. The lawsuit also points out that DOGE could potentially access tax information about Musk’s business competitors, something no other business owner can do.
The groups involved in the lawsuit are concerned that DOGE’s access to taxpayer data could damage trust in the IRS, which millions of Americans rely on. Nina Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, said, “The efficiency and effectiveness of our system is dependent upon taxpayers’ trust that the information they voluntarily provide the IRS will be held confidential. Allowing DOGE unfettered access to the sensitive data held by the IRS is a violation of both the rights of all taxpayers and their trust.”
The lawsuit argues that this action goes against several laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act, the Tax Reform Act, and the Privacy Act, which were created after the Watergate scandal in the 1970s to prevent political misuse of taxpayer data.
The plaintiffs worry that this situation brings back memories of past efforts to use the IRS for political purposes. During the Watergate era, former President Richard Nixon tried to gather tax information on his political opponents, leading to reforms to protect Americans from similar intrusions.
A former aide to Trump even told The New York Times in 2022 that Trump had considered using the IRS to target his enemies, and some of his critics have expressed concerns about being unfairly audited.
The groups are asking the court for a temporary restraining order to stop any further actions until the legality of DOGE’s request can be fully reviewed. They are being supported by Democracy Forward, a nonprofit organization that has worked on several lawsuits against the Trump administration.
