A federal judge on Friday indefinitely postponed a final ruling on a request by labor unions to block Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing internal system data, telling both parties, “You will hear from me,” but declining to provide a specific timeline for a decision.
The update from U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, comes just a week after he denied an earlier request from unions representing Labor Department employees for a temporary restraining order to prevent DOGE from accessing internal data. Bates ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing and failed to demonstrate potential harm from the actions.
In response, the unions broadened their lawsuit, amending their complaint to include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Fox News reported.
Friday’s arguments lasted over three hours, with plaintiffs contending that DOGE employees were unlawfully accessing their information, as DOGE is not officially recognized as a U.S. government agency.
“There has been reporting that DOGE is directing the cuts of agency staff and contracts, not simply advising the president,” a lawyer for the plaintiffs told Bates, adding: “The situation is extremely fluid and changing.”
Plaintiffs requested that Bates issue a temporary injunction blocking DOGE’s access to the data, which they said would “force the agency to implement a more thoughtful process.”
In response, the Justice Department argued that the DOGE personnel in question are U.S. government employees “detailed” under the provisions of the Economy Act, granting them access to the information.
But Bates declined to rule from the bench, telling both sides, “You will hear from me.”
The judge’s decision is unlikely to ease concerns among employees at the Labor Department and other federal agencies regarding DOGE’s access to sensitive internal data, Fox noted.
During last week’s hearing, attorneys representing Labor Department unions argued that without court intervention, DOGE could gain access to protected agency information, including financial and medical records of millions of Americans, as well as employee safety and workplace complaints.
The plaintiffs also highlighted that Labor Department systems contain sensitive data related to investigations into Musk-owned companies, Tesla and SpaceX, along with trade secrets of competing firms—raising concerns about Elon Musk’s potential access to confidential information.
Attorney Mark Samburg warned that DOGE’s involvement could have a “chilling effect” on employees coming forward with complaints, fearing unlawful disclosure or retaliation.
“The sensitive information of millions of people is currently at imminent risk of unlawful disclosure,” Samburg argued without presenting any actual evidence that Musk’s team had obtained such information.
Bates suggested Friday that the creation of DOGE and its hierarchy were “odd,” noting that it “was created in a way to get it out of OMB [Office of Management and Budget], and instead answering to the chief of staff of the president.”
DOGE “took great effort to avoid being an agency, but in this case, you’re an agency,” he said of DOGE. “It just seems to strain credulity.”
Meanwhile, at least one member of Musk’s team visited the Internal Revenue Service offices in Washington on Thursday as part of its effort to assess and possibly reduce the size of government agencies, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
The DOGE member, Gavin Kliger, made several requests, including a breakdown of what each business unit within the IRS does, its goals for the next 90 days, and the risks currently facing each unit, according to one of the sources.
CNN reported that it remained unclear if Kliger had accessed any IRS systems. A source told the network, however, that “he’s just getting a lay of the land at the moment.”
There was no indication on Thursday that sensitive IRS information had been accessed, but staffers were still on high alert, CNN added.