A federal judge on Thursday ordered Trump administration officials involved with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to testify in a legal dispute that seeks to block DOGE’s access to sensitive government databases.
U.S. District Judge John Bates said officials from the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other agencies linked to the Elon Musk-led DOGE will sit for questioning under oath by lawyers for labor unions and other groups suing to block DOGE’s efforts to trim the federal bureaucracy.
The groups claim some DOGE officials and allies have already been granted access to sensitive databases and that privacy concerns of federal workers are being ignored.
President Donald Trump speaks as Elon Musk listens in the Oval Office at the White House. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Bates had earlier refused to block DOGE access entirely.
Bates limited the depositions to eight hours, but no specific timeline was announced. Names of those who will be asked to testify were not revealed.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center Feb. 20 in Oxon Hill, Md. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“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,” the judge wrote.
Bates’ order also permits a limited set of written questions to be submitted to the agencies targeted by the lawsuit.
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