United States: A federal judge allowed government employee unions to conduct sworn examinations of Trump administration officials about the Department of Government Efficiency’s methods as part of their effort to stop DOGE from accessing federal agency systems in court filings, as reported by Reuters.
Unions Granted Right to Question Officials
Washington District Judge John Bates authorized unions to conduct a deposition of four officials, including one DOGE and one each from the Labor Department, HHS, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The court did not identify specific government personnel who would be examined in the order.
The court evaluates if it should enforce a preliminary injunction that would restrict DOGE from entering agency systems until the union lawsuit advances.
Legal Dispute Over Agency System Access
The deposition process consists of eight total hours during which employees must reveal DOGE’s organizational structure, their roles, system access levels, and security measures established by the agency per Bates’ ruling.
Justice Department lawyers from the U.S. opposed the unions’ attempt to conduct depositions. The Justice Department has not yet provided a response when asked for comment.
Judicial officer Bates wrote this under W. Bush’s Republican administration after the government presented conflicting information about DOGE programs and left numerous operation details in question, including its formal government agency status.
“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 operations of DOGE generally take place behind closed doors. Justice Department attorneys dispute during court proceedings that Elon Musk serves as a department leader, although he acts as a public spokesperson representing DOGE cuts to federal agencies.
Concerns Over System Access and Security
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations launched a lawsuit against the Labor Department in an attempt to prevent DOGE from accessing departmental systems because they claimed the move would provide Musk access to investigation information about his companies. At the beginning of the case, Bates refused to grant a preliminary injunction that would prevent access, as reported by Reuters.
Additional departments and labor organizations have joined the plaintiffs who expanded their case against the Labor Department.