A federal judge has ruled that Trump administration officials connected to Elon Musk’s sweeping efforts to restructure the federal government must testify in an ongoing court battle over the initiative.
The ruling, issued on Thursday, February 27th, by Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court in Washington, represents a significant development in the legal challenges surrounding the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The task force, led by Musk and authorized by President Donald J. Trump, was created to reduce the size of government agencies and scrutinize their spending. Since its inception, DOGE members have gained access to multiple federal databases, raising concerns over privacy and security.
Government employee unions and nonprofit organizations have filed lawsuits against DOGE, arguing that its entry into agency systems violates federal law. The American Federation of Government Employees and other labor unions have sought to bar DOGE from accessing sensitive records stored at the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Earlier this month, Judge Bates declined to immediately block Musk’s team from accessing federal records but expressed serious concerns about the privacy implications of DOGE’s activities. In his latest order, he permitted the plaintiffs to conduct limited discovery, including depositions of one official from each of the three agencies involved, as well as one member of DOGE.
Bates justified his decision by stating that these depositions are “necessary to determine the contours of the agency actions that plaintiffs challenge” and would not place an undue burden on the government. He limited the depositions to a total of eight hours, focusing on DOGE’s structure, the roles of its personnel, the extent of their access to federal systems, and the security measures in place.
The Justice Department had opposed the depositions, but Bates pointed to inconsistencies in the government’s own descriptions of DOGE’s operations, highlighting the uncertainty over whether DOGE is even a formal government entity. “It would be strange to permit defendants to submit evidence that addresses critical factual issues and proceed to rule on a preliminary injunction motion without permitting plaintiffs to explore those factual issues through very limited discovery,” Bates wrote.
The lawsuit has expanded in scope in recent weeks, as additional unions have joined the effort to block DOGE’s access to federal records. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) recently sued the Department of Labor, citing concerns that DOGE’s activities could provide Musk with privileged information about ongoing federal investigations into his companies.
Despite mounting legal challenges, Musk has remained defiant, using his social media platform to attack Judge Bates, calling him an “evil judge” who “must be fired.” The Justice Department has not yet commented on the ruling.
As the case unfolds, the judge is weighing whether to issue a preliminary injunction that would temporarily halt DOGE’s access to federal systems while litigation proceeds. The ruling could have significant implications for the future of the task force and for broader questions of government transparency and oversight in the Musk-Trump era.
