A federal judge in DC is refusing to bar Elon Musk and DOGE access to student data in the Department of Education, saying that a California student group presented no evidence “beyond sheer speculation” that DOGE would misuse the data.

This is the same judge we wrote about yesterday, appointed by Obama, who refused to block the Trump administration from using a new email system. In that case he said the federal workers had presented no evidence, but only a “highly attenuated chain of possibilities.”

Here’s more from Reuters:

A U.S. judge has rejected a bid to bar the government downsizing team created by President Donald Trump and spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk from accessing internal systems in the U.S. Department of Education that house federal student financial aid information concerning millions of Americans.

Washington-based U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss declined to issue, opens new tab a temporary restraining order sought by the University of California Student Association to prevent the department from disclosing information to people affiliated with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

The student group’s lawyers had argued that the Education Department’s decision to grant DOGE access to student data violated its obligations under a federal law called the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code to protect the sensitive personal information of the borrowers.

But Moss, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, said the group presented no evidence “beyond sheer speculation” to support finding that staffers with the department or DOGE would misuse or improperly disclose information they are obligated by law to keep confidential.

The judge cited a declaration by Adam Ramada, a DOGE employee, who said that the six people working with his team to help audit for waste, fraud and abuse at the department and assist senior leadership in obtaining data understand they must comply with laws governing the disclosure of the information.

I think I’m liking this federal judge. He doesn’t seem like the crazy activist type who can’t wait to make a name for themselves by issuing restraining orders on the Trump administration.