Education Dept. will shield federal student aid data from Musk's DOGE – for now
Another court hearing on the matter is set for later this week, the day after education secretary nominee Linda McMahon's Senate confirmation hearing.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Education agreed on Tuesday to prevent Elon Musk's government efficiency team from accessing millions of students' personal and financial data for at least a week.
In a new federal court filing, the agency said it would not allow any members of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to see or use information from federal student aid databases until next Monday. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss signed off on the agreement, which also temporarily bars any employee detailed to the agency after Jan. 19 from the same systems as part of a lawsuit filed late last week.
The decision brings a temporary reprieve to the plaintiffs, a group of college students in California who alleged DOGE violated privacy laws by infiltrating the Education Department's information systems. An agency employee familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, previously confirmed to Paste BN that Musk’s team had gained access to vast student databases, including several that are listed in Tuesday's court filing.
Dan Zibel, the vice president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, one of the groups representing the students, celebrated Tuesday's arrangement.
“While today’s agreement puts further damage on hold, we look forward to putting a permanent end to these egregious violations," he said in a statement.
President Donald Trump has fully supported Musk's cost-cutting measures so far. On Monday, the Education Department abruptly canceled nearly $1 billion in educational research contracts, gutting the agency's data-collecting arm.
Speaking alongside the president in the Oval Office Tuesday, Musk called the administration's efforts to reduce federal expenses "not optional."
"The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get,” he said.
Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for Paste BN. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.