OAN Staff Blake Wolf
3:33 PM – Tuesday, August 12, 2025
A federal appeals court ruled in favor of allowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access data from the Department of Education, the Treasury Department, and the Office of Personnel Management after previously being blocked by a lower court in February.
The recent ruling now provides DOGE with “high-level I.T. access” to numerous government databases, Judge Julius N. Richardson stated.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling on Tuesday, rendering a 2-1 decision that grants DOGE access to computer systems across multiple agencies. These systems house sensitive data, including Social Security numbers and individuals’ citizenship status.
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Unions, such as the American Federation of Teachers and the National Federation of Federal Employees, have already sued DOGE over access to the information. However, DOGE maintains they need to acquire the information in order to continue rooting out waste, fraud, and overspending in the federal government.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten stated back in March that the organization chose to sue DOGE “because of what they’ve done in the Department of Education to essentially steal people’s privacy and their assets.” Weingarten has also described Trump’s directives as a “modern-day McCarthyism.”
However, there is no credible evidence to suggest that DOGE has stolen any individuals’ privacy or assets.
The 4th Circuit explained that the unions that sued DOGE did not provide “sufficient evidence” as to how they would be negatively affected by the agency having access to the information.
The one judge who dissented against the majority stated that blocking access to the sensitive information was sensible as the case plays out, and the judge also argued that the standard placed on the plaintiffs was unreasonably high.
Additionally, the ruling provides DOGE access to information such as addresses, employer details, student debt, and other stored information that could be used to identify citizens.
Trump appointee Judge Richardson and Judge G. Steven Agee made up the majority in the ruling. Judge Robert B. King, a Bill Clinton appointee, voted against allowing DOGE access to the information.
“Just in early February 2025, the district court found itself confronted with this matter of immense urgency and import: the president’s new Department of Government Efficiency, or ‘DOGE,’ had been accorded sudden, unfettered, unprecedented and apparently unnecessary access to highly sensitive personal information belonging to millions of Americans,” Judge Agee wrote.
The Trump administration has maintained that DOGE’s role is to find and root out government waste, fraud, and abuse. The administration has also agreed to have DOGE staffers undergo background checks and security training to ensure the safety and security of the American people.
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