WASHINGTON: Elon Musk and his aides have taken control of the US Treasury Department`s payments system, triggering a lawsuit charging he is illegally getting access to private data of millions of Americans.

Musk, the world`s richest person, is leading President Donald Trump`s federal cost-cutting efforts under the so-calledDepartment of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The suit calls on a federal judge to declare it illegal for Musk or others from DOGE to get personal information about taxpayers and to block the Treasury Department from letting that happen.

`People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to shareinformation with Elon Musk or his `DOGE`,` read a lawsuit filed in Washington by labor unions and a grassroots advocacy group.

`And federal law says they do not have to.` Musk said Monday in a post on X, the social media platform he owns, that the `only way to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money is to follow the payment flows and pause suspi-cious transactions for review.

`Naturally, this causes those who have been aiding, abetting, and receiving fraudulent payments to become very upset. Too bad,` he added. The closely guarded payments system handles the money flow of the US government, including $6tr for Social Security, Medicare, federal salaries, and others.-AFP