Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over a policy they say illegally grants Elon Musk and other unauthorized individuals access to Americans’ most sensitive financial information.
The lawsuit, filed today, challenges a new Treasury Department policy that allegedly allows Musk and members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access the Bureau of Fiscal Services’ (BFS) central payment system. That system controls critical federal funds, including Social Security, veterans’ benefits, and Medicare and Medicaid payments.
According to Raoul, the move could put millions of Americans’ private data—including bank account details and Social Security numbers—at risk. It could also give Musk and his team the ability to block or manipulate payments for state-run programs like health care, childcare, and public education.
“Federal law limits access to Americans’ personal and self-identifying information to specific government workers who have passed extensive and thorough security clearances. Unelected political appointees who have not been appropriately vetted should not be allowed to have unrestricted access to Americans’ sensitive personal information and our nation’s most critical payment system,” Raoul said. “My office has been committed to helping protect Illinois residents’ personal information, and I am joining my colleagues in filing this lawsuit to stop unfettered access to this sensitive data and require members of DOGE to follow the law.”
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block the new policy and a declaration that the Treasury Department’s decision is unconstitutional.
Under federal law, only career civil servants with the appropriate security clearances are allowed access to BFS. Raoul and his counterparts argue that the Trump administration’s policy violates those laws and opens the door to potential abuses, including the possibility that Musk or other DOGE appointees could freeze or divert federal payments.
The Treasury Department’s new policy went into effect on Feb. 2, expanding access to the BFS payment system. The attorneys general argue that the change not only violates federal law but also undermines the integrity of programs millions of Americans rely on.
Raoul joins attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin in the lawsuit.
