Federal judge blocks DOGE from accessing Treasury payment system
The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, had received permission to access the database for the purpose of auditing government spending.
Seal of the Treasury Department
US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on Saturday issued an emergency order blocking the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, from entering the Treasury's payments and data archiving system.
In the order, the judge barred all political appointees, special agents of the government and government employees of outside agencies from having personal and financial data archived by the Treasury Department.
Additionally, the destruction of any copies of the material that have been downloaded since Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 was ordered. The disposition is valid at least until a hearing set for Feb. 14.
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Engelmayer so ruled in response to a lawsuit filed Friday by attorneys general from 19 states, who alleged that the Trump Administration violated the law by allowing the DOGE to access sensitive Treasury data.
In granting the injunction, the judge agreed with the plaintiffs that such expanded access would weaken the security of the system, for example by increasing the risk of leaks of sensitive information, and that the states faced "irreparable harm" if judge did not act immediately.
In early February, newly appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent authorized members of the Department of Government Efficiency to enter the federal payments system as part of its efforts to monitor and limit federal spending.
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