Curb Your DOGE

Matthew Platkin
Platkin discussed his argument that Americans’ privacy rights are being violated, why he believes the administration’s funding freezes are illegal, and his warning to Trump voters who may be getting more than they bargained for. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Abby Livingston
February 11, 2025

Over the weekend, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, along with New York’s Letitia James and 17 other Democratic attorneys general, sued the Trump administration, securing a preliminary injunction to stop Elon Musk and his DOGE minions from accessing the Treasury Department’s internal payment and data systems, which includes Social Security numbers and banking information. The A.G.s’ rapid, coordinated response underscored the anxiety that Elon’s disruption campaign has unleashed in certain pockets of the country. But it’s also yet another indication that Democrats may have more leverage outside the Capitol than within.