Feb. 21, 2025
Carson City, NV – Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford released the following statement in response to a preliminary injunction being granted by a federal judge in the case State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, in which AG Ford and 18 other attorney generals sued to stop the private, nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing personal information at the Department of the Treasury.
“Today’s preliminary injunction is a victory for the rule of law and for Nevadans. Our country has systems in place to ensure our government runs smoothly and our citizens are protected, and I will fight back against any effort to unlawfully skirt those protections or dismantle our system of checks and balances.
By allowing DOGE staff to access Department of Treasury data, President Trump broke the law and endangered the private, personal information of Nevadans and Americans. Once again, our office has protected Nevadans from unchecked federal overreach into their privacy and safety.
We will continue to protect Nevadans, and the rule of law, whenever necessary.”
The lawsuit filed by the attorneys general asserts that the Trump administration illegally provided Elon Musk and DOGE unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, and therefore to Americans’ most sensitive personal information, including bank account details and Social Security numbers.
Beginning Feb. 2, 2025, the Trump administration’s Treasury Department adopted a new policy that grants “special government employees,” including Elon Musk and members of DOGE, access to its central payment system operated by the Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS). This central payment system controls vital funding that millions of Americans depend on, including Social Security payments, veteran’s benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments and more. The payment system also controls billions of dollars that states rely on to support essential services like law enforcement, public education and infrastructure repairs.
Access to BFS is limited by federal law to a select group of career civil servants with the appropriate security clearances. Attorney General Ford and the coalition assert the Treasury Department’s new policy, which expands access to BFS’s payment system, violates the law, jeopardizes Americans’ most sensitive personal information, and would allow Elon Musk and other unauthorized political appointees to access a system that could permit them to freeze federal funds with the click of a button in violation of the Constitution.
Review a copy of the court's order.
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