A federal judge, John D. Bates, ruled that officials from the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), connected to Elon Musk, must testify in court regarding their controversial efforts to overhaul government operations. This is the first such ruling tied to DOGE, which was tasked with slashing government agencies and accessing sensitive data. Unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, have challenged these actions, arguing they violate privacy laws. Bates expressed concerns about privacy issues but allowed limited depositions and document requests to clarify agency actions. The depositions are capped at eight hours.
On Thursday, a federal judge in Washington decided that officials from the Trump administration, involved in Elon Musk’s extensive initiative to reform the federal government—including a member of his team—are required to testify in a legal battle concerning those efforts.
This ruling, made by Judge John D. Bates, marks the first instance where a member of Mr. Musk’s task force, known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), must testify in one of the numerous lawsuits triggered by its actions.
DOGE was established by President Trump to reduce government agencies and evaluate their expenditures. Under Mr. Musk’s leadership, the task force has accessed several computer systems and databases from various agencies, which include significant amounts of personal data from federal employees and taxpayers, along with other sensitive information.
Unions and nonprofit organizations have contested Mr. Musk’s team in federal court, claiming that their access to government databases breaches federal regulations. In the case where Judge Bates made his ruling, unions representing federal employees, such as the American Federation of Government Employees, are attempting to prevent DOGE from accessing records that contain personal information of Americans at the Departments of Labor and Health, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Earlier this month, in a related ruling, Judge Bates—who was appointed to the Federal District Court in Washington by President George W. Bush—did not take immediate action to stop Mr. Musk’s team from accessing the records. Nevertheless, he expressed serious concerns regarding the privacy implications involved in the case.
In his latest order on Thursday, Judge Bates stated that the requests for documents and depositions from DOGE officials were “essential to ascertain the specifics of the agency actions that plaintiffs are challenging” and “will not impose an undue burden on the defendants.”
The plaintiffs sought depositions from one official each at the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well as from one member of the DOGE team. Judge Bates granted this request, restricting the total duration of the depositions to eight hours.
In his order, Judge Bates noted that the plaintiffs’ document request “primarily seeks only the identities of individuals, dates, and names of systems, in addition to documents referenced in the defendants’ own declarations.”
“It would be odd to allow defendants to present evidence that addresses key factual questions and proceed to a ruling,” Judge Bates stated, without “allowing plaintiffs to investigate those factual matters through very limited discovery.”