Trump 2nd term live updates: Dan Bongino named as deputy FBI director

A group of unions and taxpayer groups are suing the Trump administration to block the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive records maintained by the Internal Revenue Service, warning that the breach of IRS data could result in "catastrophic" outcomes.

The groups alleged that untrained DOGE employees may be able to access highly sensitive data from the IRS, including bank account information, complete tax returns and Social Security numbers.

"This case seeks to protect the privacy and the legal rights of millions of Americans, and thousands of small business owners, who depend upon the IRS," the lawsuit said.

The filing highlighted the unique conflict of interest created by Elon Musk’s potential access to IRS information, including reports into the Telsa CEO's own businesses and competitors.

“No other business owner on the planet has access to this kind of information on his competitors, and for good reason," the lawsuit said.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Soo Rin Kim

The Senate is continuing with its fast-paced confirmation process, voting 51-45 to confirm Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary Tuesday night. All Republicans voted in favor of the nomination. All Democrats voted against it, though two Democrats missed the vote.

Lutnick's confirmation marks the 17th member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet to be confirmed in 30 days, surpassing the pace of Biden's Cabinet nominee confirmations. By this point in 2021, the Democratic-led Senate had only confirmed seven of Biden's Cabinet nominees. It took 56 days for the Senate to confirm 17 Biden Cabinet nominees.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa

Several employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture working on bird flu were notified they had been fired over the weekend.

Now, the USDA is working to rescind those termination letters and "swiftly rectify the situation," the USDA told ABC News in a statement.

In the statement, the USDA noted that "Food Safety and Inspection Service [FSIS] frontline positions are considered public safety positions." The FSIS is a section of the department that works to "ensure food safety and food defense," according to its website.

Amid the spread of bird flu among animals, officials have remained confident the food supply is safe. They have found no evidence of any human getting infected from food and continue to recommend safe food practices such as cooking meat to appropriate temperatures and have recommended avoiding unpasteurized milk.

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud

The Senate voted 48-45 on Tuesday evening to advance Kash Patel's nomination to serve as FBI director.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has also filed cloture on Patel's nomination, which tees up the Trump pick's final confirmation vote. That vote is expected to occur later this week.

Seven senators were not present for the procedural vote, but Patel advanced because he earned support from a majority of those who were in attendance.
-ABC News' Isabella Murray