Trump signed EO 14243 directing all agencies to grant DOGE officials unrestricted federal database access, superseding Privacy Act

On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14243, "Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos," directing all federal agency heads to immediately grant any "Federal officials designated by the President or Agency Heads" full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, data systems, software, and IT infrastructure. The order further required that any "unfettered access" be extended to data from state programs receiving federal funding, and specifically directed the Secretary of Labor to provide DOGE-designated officials unrestricted access to all unemployment data and related payment records. Agency heads were required within 30 days to rescind any guidance — including Privacy Act system-of-records notices — that served as barriers to the mandated data sharing.

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) establishes the statutory framework under which federal agencies collect and disclose personal records. The Act's system-of-records notices define the permissible purposes for which agencies may maintain and share data on individuals, and those purposes can be modified only through the notice-and-comment rulemaking process or by Congress. EO 14243 bypassed both: it directed agencies to grant sweeping data access by presidential fiat and overrode any regulatory barrier, including the statutory notice framework, without congressional authorization or rulemaking. The order became the primary legal citation DOGE personnel used to justify accessing Treasury payment systems, Social Security Administration records, and agency personnel databases throughout 2025.

Legal challenges mounted by privacy advocates and state attorneys general argued that the Privacy Act's constraints on inter-agency data sharing are statutory and cannot be superseded by executive order. Critics noted that the order created no new authorization for the underlying data uses, offered no safeguards against misuse or unauthorized disclosure, and gave designated officials access to sensitive records — including records on millions of federal employees and Social Security beneficiaries — with no independent oversight mechanism. The order illustrates the administration's broader assertion that the executive branch may override congressional statutes protecting individual rights through presidential directive alone.