Justin Doubleday, Management, Federal News Network, June 9, 2025
A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction that will restrict how the Department of Government Efficiency can access Office of Personnel Management databases.
In a written opinion Monday, Judge Denise Cote found OPM “violated the law and bypassed its established cybersecurity practices” when officials first granted individuals from DOGE broad access to its IT systems.
“The plaintiffs have shown that the defendants disclosed OPM records to individuals who had no legal right of access to those records,” Cote wrote. “In doing so, the defendants violated the Privacy Act and departed from cybersecurity standards that they are obligated to follow. This was a breach of law and of trust. Tens of millions of Americans depend on the Government to safeguard records that reveal their most private and sensitive affairs.”