A federal judge has cleared the way for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to begin accessing federal student loan data held by the Department of Education as part of an audit of the agency’s spending. The ruling, issued Monday evening, permits DOGE to obtain the data despite opposition from the University of California Student Association (UCSA). The association had filed a lawsuit claiming that granting DOGE access would violate privacy laws.
Judge Randolph Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia stated that the UCSA did not demonstrate the necessary irreparable harm to warrant blocking the data access. “Because the Court concludes that UCSA has failed to clear that essential hurdle, the Court’s analysis also ends there,” Moss explained in the ruling.
Additionally, Judge Moss noted that the question of UCSA’s legal standing and whether their arguments were valid under existing law would be addressed at a later date when further information becomes available. The ruling is the second major legal win for the Trump White House against Democrat-aligned organizations seeking to curb President Donald J. Trump‘s efforts to reduce government spending.
Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has been seeking data from various federal agencies to conduct investigations into potential fraud or misuse of resources. However, Musk and DOGE are currently unable to access the Treasury Department due to a separate court order.
District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to rule late today on a separate lawsuit that could impact DOGE’s access to data and employment rolls with numerous federal agencies.
