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A federal judge handed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency a major win Friday — saying it could access sensitive data across three major government agencies.

Musk’s budget-slashing team had made efforts to rummage through the finances of the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.


  A federal judge handed Elon Musk’s DOGE a major win on Friday. The Washington Post via Getty Images A federal judge handed Elon Musk’s DOGE a major win on Friday. The Washington Post via Getty Images

A lawsuit brought by unions and nonprofits had sought a temporary order blocking DOGE from the files.

US District Judge John Bates ruled that DOGE was technically a government agency and thus had a legal right to the files.

Musk celebrated Bates’ ruling on X with a post reading, “LFG” — internet slang for “Let’s F–king Go.”


  US District Judge John Bates said DOGE could access agency data because it was a government agency. U.S Courts US District Judge John Bates said DOGE could access agency data because it was a government agency. U.S Courts

Musk has not always celebrated Bates’ rulings. When the same judge ordered multiple agencies to restore public health information that the Trump administration had taken down, the billionaire raged.

“There needs to be an immediate wave of judicial impeachments, not just one,” he said on X Wednesday. A clutch of House Republicans are already exploring that possibility.

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