In what was a shocking turn of events predicted by no one, a federal judge in New York has ruled against President Donald Trump.

This time around, the judge rejected the Trump administration's petition to dismiss a lawsuit against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as Newsmax reported.

The suit accuses DOGE of accessing the personal information of millions of federal workers in federal databases.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote for the Southern District of New York ruled that the administration's motion to dismiss was insufficient, allowing the case to move forward.

The Ruling

In her 37-page decision, the judge said that the Office of Personnel Management unlawfully gave DOGE officials extremely sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, medical records, and financial data.

Cote, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, said that the action can proceed to prevent such disclosure and demand the return of any shared material.

Elon Musk is spearheading DOGE effort to reduce government waste, fraud, a job given to the department by the president.

From the Judge

Cote ruled that the court would allow current and former federal employees to "pursue their request for injunctive relief under the APA [Administrative Procedure Act]. ... The defendants' Kafkaesque argument to the contrary would deprive the plaintiffs of any recourse under the law."

"The complaint plausibly alleges that actions by OPM were not representative of its ordinary day-to-day operations but were, in sharp contrast to its normal procedures, illegal, rushed, and dangerous," Cote wrote.

"The complaint adequately pleads that the DOGE Defendants 'plainly and openly crossed a congressionally drawn line in the sand.' "

Case History

Federal workers and their unions filed a privacy breach lawsuit against the OPM in February, claiming that DOGE personnel had unlawfully stolen data from the agency's systems.

Nearly 2 million plaintiffs had their personal information protected from disclosure by the OPM and two other federal agencies this week by Joe Biden appointee U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman.

Federal agencies are governed by the Privacy Act of 1974 when it comes to access, use, and disclosure of individual's information. The lawsuit contended that DOGE's breach of records breached this.

Support

The decision was praised by Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which is the United States' largest union representing federal employees.

"Elon Musk and his DOGE cronies have no business rifling through sensitive data stored at OPM, period," Kelley said.

"AFGE and our allies fought back – and won – because we will not compromise when it comes to protecting the privacy and security of our members and the American people they proudly serve."