Name: Judge Declines to Block DOGE’s Access to Student Financial Aid Data
Uploaded: 2025-02-19T05:20:29.000Z
Description: A federal judge declined to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Department of Education's student financial aid data on Feb. 17.

Jack Bradley is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Jack previously anchored "NTD Newsroom" and worked as an assistant producer for the show. 

Jack Bradley

NTD Plus

News

News with integrity, from the U.S. and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

China’s Broken Promises Loom Over New Trade Deals

David Lam is a national correspondent based in California and a part-time anchor for "NTD Tonight." Before joining NTD he was a financial analyst.

David Lam

Californians React as Trump Calls for Gas Tax Suspension

Arleen Richards is NTD's legal correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers all major legal stories. Arleen holds a Doctor of Law (J.D.).


Arleen Richards

Federal Agencies Announce ‘Summer Surge’ of Law Enforcement into DC Ahead of 250th Anniversary

Christina Corona is a California-based reporter for NTD News. She primarily covers California news, politics, and entertainment.  

Christina Corona

Trump Administration Reports Zero Border Releases

Arian Pasdar is an international correspondent for NTD News based in South America. His reporting focuses on immigration and key events in Latin America.

Arian Pasdar

US to Host 1st Ever World Cup Final Halftime Show, Featuring Shakira, Madonna

Savannah Pointer is a politics reporter for The Epoch Times. She can be reached at savannah.pointer@epochtimes.us

Savannah Hulsey Pointer

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's National Security Correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

Health News

Texas Children's Hospital to Open First-Ever Detransition Clinic Under Deal With DOJ

Sam Wang is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Sam covers politics on Capitol Hill, and U.S.-China relations. 

Sam Wang

Citizens Honor Police for Their Service and Sacrifice

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

Trump ‘Projecting American Influence and Leadership’ on Iran Issue in Beijing: China Expert

Chris Bob is a reporter for NTD and a host of "Profiles of Service." He is also a small business owner. Chris graduated from Union College with a concentration in politics and religion in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Chris Bob

Senate Panel Advances Crypto Regulation Bill

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Lawmakers Weigh ‘Sanctuary’ Polices After Woman’s Death in Virginia

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 14)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 12)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 11)

Don Ma is an anchor and senior business correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Don is the anchor and producer of NTD's "Business Matters," which airs weekdays at 4:30 pm ET.

Don Ma

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 10)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 9)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

A federal judge declined to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Department of Education's student financial aid data on Feb. 17.

The ruling stems from a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216.1.0_3.pdf">lawsuit</a> brought by the University of California Students Association (USCA) against the Education Department and its acting secretary, Denise Carter.

The suit alleged that DOGE, in seeking to access the Education Department's records, will have access to the students’ personal information, including social security numbers, as well as detailed financial data of their parents.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216.20.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">ruled</a> that the plaintiffs had not shown sufficient irreparable harm to warrant emergency injunctive relief.

“Because the Court concludes that UCSA has failed to clear that essential hurdle, the Court’s analysis also ends there,” the judge wrote.

“The Court leaves for another day consideration of whether USCA’s has standing to sue and has stated a claim upon which relief may be granted. Those questions are less clear cut and are better answered on a more complete record.”

The USCA suit alleged that DOGE's actions in accessing the department’s records would violate federal regulations, including the Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits the department from sharing this data with a third party.

“Plaintiff UCSA’s members are among the 42 million federal student loan borrowers who have provided sensitive personal information to [the Education Department] in order to obtain a federal student loan,” the plaintiffs’ complaint stated.

“These are people who trusted [the department] with their sensitive personal information” when filing for student loans and grants, the complaint stated.

<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">One UCSA student, remaining anonymous because of her family’s immigration status, submitted a supplemental <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216.17.2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declaration</a> saying that DOGE accessing her records had given her anxiety and was causing her to reconsider her application for graduate school.</span>

The department <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216.16.0.pdf">responded</a> that the lawsuit is without merit, and raises “separation of powers concerns by impermissibly intruding into the President’s superintendence of the Department of Education.”

“There is no violation of the Privacy Act when employees of an agency, like the six individuals at issue here, access agency systems to perform their job duties,” the response stated.

A declaration by the education department's chief information officer Thomas Flagg says that the department “routinely shares information with other Executive departments and agencies as part of other, non-DOGE-related initiatives, which [he does] not understand to be at issue in the litigation for which I submit this declaration.”

Moss drilled into both sides of the case in a hearing on Feb. 14, seeking to understand if DOGE employees who had been assigned temporarily to work at the department could be considered employees of that agency.

Moss highlighted what he saw as a “unique lack of transparency” in DOGE’s work.

“We don’t know who these folks are or what they are doing,” he said at the hearing.

The judge asked the plaintiffs if it was ever appropriate for government employees of an agency to conduct an audit.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs responded that it “depends on the nature of the audit.”

Likewise, the judge queried lawyers for the government about the broad scope of DOGE’s data acquisition.

“What would happen if the political director of the White House obtained the tax records of every Democrat candidate?” he asked.

The judge was also concerned that the student’s data was being fed into an AI portal for processing and sought clarification on the actual number of DOGE employees assigned to audit the Education Department.

Attorneys for the government estimated that number at six individuals. The plaintiffs alleged there were as many as 37.

On Feb. 17, DOGE employee Adam Ramada submitted a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216/gov.uscourts.dcd.277216.18.2.pdf">declaration</a> to the court testifying that he was aware of only six “who have been granted access to Department information technology and data systems or who have otherwise received any Department information protected by the Privacy Act or section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code.”

Ramada also said that all employees, except one, had completed security and ethics training; the remaining employee is set to finish the training soon.

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-denies-block-on-doge-access-to-student-data-5811723">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Latest

Videos

Politics

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Management

02_Second Lead

Executive Branch

Courts

Stacy Robinson is a reporter for The Epoch Times.

Stacy Robinson

DOGE

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.