The march of the Lawsuits and Federal Court Judges Keep coming, while Congress just stand’s by….
The Education Department agreed Tuesday to block DOGE, a commission run by Elon Musk that Donald Trump created by executive order in January 2025, from accessing student loan data, among other sensitive information, while a lawsuit plays out in a federal court.
The University of California Student Association filed the lawsuit Friday after it was reported that DOGE had access to federal student loan data.
The lawsuit alleges the department violated the Privacy Act by providing sensitive information to DOGE, including students’ social security numbers and tax information. The 1974 law limits how the federal government collects and shares people’s information among agencies.
An agreement reached between the student association and Department of Education Tuesday prevents DOGE from accessing a handful of systems, including the National Student Loan Data System and the Aid Awareness and Application Processing until February 17. The agreement gives D.C. District Court Judge Randolph Moss time to hold a Feb. 14 hearing on a restraining order blocking DOGE from accessing the information.
Moss was skeptical of the student association’s claims during a hearing Tuesday, stating he did not see how DOGE’s access to student loan data caused harm….
“Elon Musk’s cost-cutting effort announced a variety of cuts at the Education Department totaling over $900 million, apparently aimed at hobbling the department’s research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences,” the New York Times reports.
“The team Mr. Musk has assembled, which has operated in relative secrecy in shuttering other agencies such as USAID and slashing government programs, said on Monday that the Education Department had ‘terminated’ 89 contracts, as well as 29 grants associated with diversity and equity training.”
“Most, if not all, of the contract cuts hit the Institute of Education Sciences’ portfolio, including Education Innovation and Research grants and review projects associated with the What Works Clearinghouse, which produces and curates research on best practices in education.”
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