Legal Action
American Federation of Teachers v. Bessent
Filed in: U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Southern Division
Summary
A coalition of labor unions and veterans have filed a lawsuit against the Trump-Vance administration challenging the U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Department of Education, and the Office of Personnel Management’s sharing of payment systems and personnel databases with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The six individual plaintiffs in this case are military veterans who have been personally harmed by federal agency data sharing with DOGE. Upon its creation by President Trump in January 2025, DOGE has gained access to the payment systems and records of several government agencies, many of which contain the highly sensitive personal and financial information of American citizens. The plaintiffs in this case argued that DOGE’s ability view confidential agency information intrudes upon the privacy of millions of Americans and violates the Privacy Act. The plaintiffs requested that the court find the DOGE data sharing unlawful and prevent further information from being shared with DOGE.
Plaintiffs
- American Federation of Teachers
- International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO
- International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO
- National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
- National Federation of Federal Employees, AFL-CIO
- Donald Martinez
- Jason Cain
- Clifford Grambo
- Thomas Fant
- Christopher Purdy
- Kristofer Goldsmith
Plaintiffs' Counsel
- Murphy Anderson PLLC
- American Federation of Teachers
- Protect Democracy Project
- Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic, Harvard Law School
- Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
Defendants
- Secretary Scott Bessent
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Acting Director Charles Ezell
- Office of Personnel Management
- Acting Secretary Denise L. Carter
- U.S. Department of Education