Attorney General William Tong announced that Connecticut is joining several states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
Nineteen Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump to stop Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.
In a news conference Friday, Tong said Elon Musk's leadership of the DOGE has allowed "unfettered" and "totally unauthorized access" to your personal information.
In his capacity as head of the DOGE, Musk has access to people's personal data including social security numbers, banking and financial information, according to Tong.
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The case, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges the Trump administration allowed Musk's team access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system in violation of federal law.
Tong said this "represents the largest data breach in American history."
"I'm really concerned about what they're doing with this information," Tong said.
Tong said the state will do everything they can to stop the DOGE.
"Totally unauthorized tech bros and in there doing whatever the hell they want," Tong said.
DOGE is an unlawfully constituted band of renegade tech bros combing through confidential records, sensitive data and critical payment systems. What could go wrong?
Attorney General William Tong
Tong went on to say that Musk has access to any information the Treasury Department has about people and states, and authorities "need to see what [has] happened to the information they've [DOGE] already gathered."
The attorney general said he's concerned that the DOGE could misuse information in the system.
In filing the lawsuit, Tong said his goal is to remove Musk from this position and the DOGE as a whole.
Musk's DOGE was created to discover and eliminate what the Trump administration has deemed to be wasteful government spending. DOGE's access to Treasury records, as well as its inspection of various government agencies, has ignited widespread concern among critics over the increasing power of Musk, while supporters have cheered at the idea of reining in bloated government finances.
In a post on social media, the DOGE said that they’ve been able to save $ 250 million.
Tong notes that the Constitution says Cabinet officials have to be confirmed by the Senate, and Musk didn't go through that process.
Now, some Connecticut republicans are pushing back.
Sen. Rob Sampson released a statement following Tong's comments saying, "he is fear mongering."
“The rest of the Democrats in Connecticut really need to understand what November was all about. American people want fundamental change in their government. They wanted better transparency in their government,” Ben Proto, the chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, said.
Proto said Tong should be more focused on the issues people in Connecticut face.
"It probably has very little impact on the state of Connecticut and more impact on Washington bureaucrats who might lose their jobs,” Proto said.
Federal funding freeze injunction
Connecticut also joined a coalition of states filing a lawsuit and restraining order against Trump's proposed federal funding freeze. A motion was recently filed for a permanent injunction, as Tong says the Trump administration is in noncompliance.
The Trump administration has until Sunday to respond to the injunction.
"Let’s be clear about what Donald Trump wants to do—Donald Trump wants to defund Connecticut schools. He wants to defund the police. He wants to defund Connecticut highways. He is defunding energy assistance right now in defiance of a court order when so many Connecticut families are desperate for relief. He is defunding Connecticut efforts to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and fossil fuels. He is defying the rule of law and daring courts to stop him," Tong said.
"We are escalating our legal fight today to protect Connecticut families and Connecticut workers from this brazen and lawless attack, and we’re not going to back down,” Tong continued.
The state is also part of a lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump's attempt to revoke the right to automatic birthright citizenship.
