Ryan Knappenberger reports:
A federal judge Friday expressed doubt that agents from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency had the authority to access wide swaths of data at the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, pushed the Justice Department to define the agents’ roles, whether DOGE was as an agency or an advisory board, and if any data was being disclosed to DOGE agents outside each agency.
Justice Department attorney Michael Gerardi struggled to provide a clear definition, suggesting that DOGE is an agency under the 1932 Economy Act, which would authorize it to “detail” or send agents to work temporarily at other agencies.
Read more at Courthouse News.