HONOLULU - Attorney General Anne Lopez today released the below statement, after a federal judge in the Southern District of New York granted a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO), just a few hours after Attorney General Lopez and a coalition of 18 other attorneys general sued to stop Elon Musk and his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE)from accessing Americans’ private information. 

Early this morning, a federal judge found that the states proved they were likely to succeed on their “particularly strong” statutory claims and would suffer irreparable harm without urgent court intervention.  

According to the court order, Elon Musk and his DOGE employees are now temporarily blocked from accessing Americans’ most sensitive personal information and must immediately destroy any and all copies of records they have already obtained.

“I am pleased with the swift actions to halt the DOGE?s unfettered, unlawful and unconstitutional access to our personal information held by the federal government. The state of Hawai?i will always put the safety and security of our residents first and foremost,” said Attorney General Lopez. 

Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury adopted a new policy that granted “special government employees,” including Elon Musk and DOGE staffers, access to its central payment system. This payment system contains Americans’ private personal data and controls vital funding that millions of Americans depend on, including Social Security payments, veterans’ benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments, and more. The payment system also controls billions of dollars that states rely on to support essential services like law enforcement, public education, health care, and critical infrastructure.

The U.S. District Court – Southern District Court of New York will hear arguments on the coalition’s motion for a preliminary injunction on February 14, 2025.

The state of Hawai?i is represented in this matter by Solicitor General Kaliko?on?lani Fernandes and Special Assistant to the Attorney General Dave Day. 

Joining Attorney General Lopez in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.