Emergency Suit Seeks to Block DOGE From Riffling Through Sensitive Taxpayer Data

Another day, another lawsuit targeting the so-called Department of Government Efficiency's infiltration of the federal government. On Monday, four groups filed a complaint in federal court aimed at preventing DOGE from accessing sensitive taxpayer data at the Internal Revenue Service.

Over the weekend, The Washington Post reported that DOGE—advisory body created by U.S. President Donald Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk to help lead—sought access to an IRS payment system that includes detailed financial data about every taxpayer, business, and nonprofit. Multiple outlets reported Monday that the IRS is preparing to grant that access for one DOGE lieutenant, software engineer Gavin Kliger, who arrived at the agency last week.

"On information and belief, as of February 17, IRS has decided to grant DOGE such access to return information," according to the complaint.

The suit was filed by the Center for Taxpayer Rights, an advocacy group; Main Street Alliance, a network of small business; the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), a labor union representing government workers; and Communications Workers of America (CWA), a labor union.

The complaint alleges that DOGE lacks statutory authority to have access to the sensitive information, and that "DOGE will also have access to tax records of Mr. Musk's business competitors, which are held by the IRS. No other business owner on the planet has access to this kind of information on his competitors, and for good reason."

The plaintiffs highlight that the Trump administration has expressed an interest in scrutinizing programs such as the child tax credit and also worry that DOGE's access to sensitive data will erode trust in a federal agency that the vast majority of working adult Americans interact with each year.

"The efficiency and effectiveness of our system is dependent upon taxpayers' trust that the information they voluntarily provide the IRS will be held confidential," said Nina Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, in a Monday statement. "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. We all need to ensure that protection and rights are not violated."

According to the complaint, the move violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the Tax Reform Act, and the Privacy Act. The latter two laws were passed in the 1970s following Watergate, in response to former President Richard Nixon's attempts to collect tax information on political enemies, according to the Center for American Progress.

The complaint raises the specter of this chapter in American history: "This nation already once experienced a president who sought to collect tax information on his political allies and enemies in the White House for use for favor and punishment and, following the Watergate era, Congress clearly and unequivocally acted to protect the American people from these intrusions."

A former Trump aid from his first administration told The New York Times in 2022 that Trump had wanted to use the IRS to investigate his enemies, and six "Trump critics," including three officials in his first administration, told Reuters in December that they fear a malicious IRS audit.

The plaintiffs, who are requesting "a temporary restraining order to maintain the status quo until the court has an opportunity to more fully consider the illegality of the defendants' actions," are being co-represented in court by Democracy Forward, a litigation and advocacy nonprofit that has served as legal counsel in multiple lawsuits brought against the Trump administration.