'It’s fascism, OK?' Federal worker union boss reveals why he’s suing agencies Musk took over

05 February

The head of the largest union representing federal workers is now joining a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration in response to billionaire Elon Musk's takeover of several key federal agencies.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson, Everett Kelley — who is the president of the American Federation of Government Workers (AFGE) — sounded the alarm about Musk's rapid accumulation of power with virtually no accountability. In addition to the AFGE, other plaintiffs joining the lawsuit include the Alliance for Retired Americans and the Service Employees International Union.

The official complaint accuses defendants Scott Bessent (who was confirmed as Treasury secretary last week), the Treasury Department and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service of violating several federal laws like the Internal Revenue Code and the Privacy Act of 1974. Plaintiffs are asking the court to issue an injunction to stop Musk and his team from accessing sensitive Treasury records, and to declare his actions to be unlawful.

"It is my opinion that this administration is trying to dismantle the federal government, and we believe that there should be transparency," Kelley said. "No one should have access to my personal information, nor should they have access to the 800,000 members I represent."

Over the weekend, Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" (which is not yet an official federal agency authorized by Congress) managed to seize control of both the Office of Personnel Management – effectively the human resources department for the entire federal government — and the U.S. Treasury Department's payment systems. Those systems, which are under the umbrella of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, handle roughly $6 trillion in annual payments to hundreds of millions of Americans including Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries, government contractors, small businesses and Americans getting federal income tax refunds, among others.

Kelley explained that before he could get clearances to view sensitive government data, he had to go through a thorough vetting process, whereas Musk and his representatives bypassed the entire process required for all other federal employees. The AFGE chief was particularly alarmed that Trump "fired everybody that knows the process," and accused him of wanting to "steamroll" the federal government. He added: "If you read Project 2025, he’s doing exactly what they said they were gonna do."

"They need to be completely out of government, if you ask me. Because what they’re doing, in actuality, it’s fascism, OK?" Kelley said. "I’m just being frank. These guys, these individuals, don’t need to be involved in government, period — because they have no respect for the workforce. They have no respect for the law. They have no respect for the policies that have been put in place and been adhered to for decades."

Click here to read Kelly's full interview with Rolling Stone (subscription required).

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