Federal employees are pursuing a temporary restraining order as part of a class action suit that accuses several associates of Elon Musk of allegedly operating an unauthorized server from the fifth floor of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) headquarters in Washington, D.C.
An attorney representing two federal employees—identified as Jane Does 1 and 2—filed a motion earlier today, claiming that the ongoing operation of the server not only contravenes federal law but also risks exposing significant volumes of personal information belonging to government employees to hostile foreign entities via unencrypted emails.
A copy of the motion, lodged in the D.C. District Court by National Security Counselors, a public interest law firm based in Washington, was exclusively obtained by WIRED before its publication. WIRED had previously reported on Musk appointing various associates to high-ranking positions within OPM, including individuals connected to xAI, Neuralink, and other enterprises he controls.
The original lawsuit, filed on January 27, references reports that Musk’s associates improperly connected a server to a government network with the intention of collecting sensitive information, including names and email addresses of federal employees. The complaint alleges that the server was installed on OPM’s premises without the agency—responsible for federal human resources—conducting a mandatory privacy impact assessment as required by federal law.
According to the 2002 E-Government Act, agencies must perform privacy assessments prior to making “substantial changes to existing information technology” when managing data “in identifiable form.” Notably, before the server was installed, OPM lacked the technical ability to communicate with the entire federal workforce from a single email account.
“At some point after January 20, 2025, OPM permitted unknown individuals to circumvent its established systems and security measures,” asserts Tuesday’s motion, “for the explicit purpose of enabling direct communication with those individuals without involving other agencies. In essence, the primary aim of these new systems was expediency.”
OPM has not yet responded to a request for comment.
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If the motion is granted, OPM would be mandated to disconnect the server pending the completion of the assessment. As a result, the Trump administration’s initiative to significantly decrease the federal workforce could be delayed. The email account associated with this server—HR@opm.gov—is currently being utilized to collect information from federal employees opting for buyouts through the administration’s “deferred resignation program,” which is set to end on February 6.
“By law, a temporary restraining order is considered an extraordinary measure,” emphasizes Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors. “However, this is indeed an extraordinary situation.”
Before granting a restraining order, courts employ what is known as the “balance of equities” doctrine, which considers the burdens and impacts on both parties. In this instance, McClanahan contends that the injunction would impose “no hardship” on the government. He describes the February 6 deadline as “arbitrary,” arguing that the administration could seamlessly continue implementing the resignation program “through established channels.”
