WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal judge has denied an attempt to bar a controversial government downsizing team—led by billionaire Elon Musk under President Donald Trump—from accessing internal student financial aid data housed at the U.S. Department of Education.
In a ruling on Monday, Washington-based U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss declined to issue a temporary restraining order sought by the University of California Student Association (UCSA).
The group argued that granting access to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) violated privacy protections under the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code.
However, Moss, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, found no evidence beyond “sheer speculation” that DOGE staffers or department employees would misuse or improperly disclose sensitive borrower data.
He cited a sworn statement from DOGE official Adam Ramada, who assured the court that his team—tasked with auditing for waste, fraud, and abuse—was fully aware of legal confidentiality requirements.
Despite the ruling, the legal battle is far from over. Adam Pulver, an attorney for UCSA with the advocacy group Public Citizen, said the case will proceed.
“Nothing in this ruling suggests that DOGE’s access to sensitive student data is legal,” he said, adding that future proceedings may reveal more about how the information is being used.
The Education Department and the White House have not commented on the ruling.
The case is part of a broader legal pushback against DOGE, which has been aggressively reshaping federal agencies since Trump’s return to office last month. Several Democratic-led states and legal organizations have sued to limit its reach.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington said she expected to rule soon on a lawsuit by 13 Democratic attorneys general seeking to block DOGE from accessing government systems and firing employees across seven agencies.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan has extended a block on DOGE from accessing payment systems at the U.S. Treasury Department.
DOGE’s sweeping efforts align with Trump’s goal of shrinking the federal government, including his push to dismantle the Education Department, which he has called “a big con job.”
His nominee to lead the department, former Small Business Administration chief and WWE executive Linda McMahon, echoed that sentiment during her Senate confirmation hearing last week.
