Judge upholds Democratic prosecutors’ request to stop Elon Musk’s DOGE from accessing confidential Treasury-held data

A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked access by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to Treasury Department records containing sensitive personal data, such as the Social Security or bank account numbers of millions of Americans. The court order comes on the heelsof a lawsuit filed by 19 Democratic prosecutors, who believe that access to such information is illegal and unconstitutional.

"As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told 'no,' but in our country no one is above the law," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement after filing the lawsuit Friday. Donald Trump has no authority to "give away Americans' private information to whomever he wants," she asserted.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer barred access to the payment systems and other Treasury data to "all political appointees," "all government special agents," as well as "all government employees assigned to an agency outside the Treasury."

The payment system handles tax refunds, Social Security benefits or veterans' benefits, among other things, and moves billions of dollars each year, while handling a vast network of Americans' personal and financial data.

Engelmayer, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, also ordered that anyone barred from accessing the sensitive information since Jan. 20 must immediately destroy all copies of the material downloaded from Treasury Department systems. The order is valid until February 14, which is the date of the next court hearing.

The DOGE's progress

Trump pushed for the creation of DOGE to reduce the size of the federal government and cut spending by billions of dollars. He placed his ally Musk, who is working quickly to restructure or even close several government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which distributes billions of dollars in aid around the world, at the helm of the entity, which was originally to be an external agency and was later incorporated into the Executive.

Last week, the Trump administration dismissed two senior USAID officials who tried to prevent DOGE representatives from gaining access to restricted parts of the building and who refused to turn over classified documents.

In addition, it emerged that Musk and his team accessed confidential Treasury Department data that, according to an internal Treasury Department assessment, was "the biggest insider threat the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced."

AFP

The DOGE's access to Treasury records, as well as its inspection of several federal agencies, has caused concern among critics about Musk's growing power. Last Tuesday, a group of Democratic lawmakers led a protest that drew hundreds of people outside Treasury headquarters to denounce a "hostile takeover" by the South African tycoon. The owner of Tesla and SpaceX, meanwhile, assures that the efforts of the department he leads seek to eradicate "corruption and waste".

What the lawsuit said

In their lawsuit, the 19 prosecutors argue that DOGE's access to Treasury records could interfere with funds already appropriated by Congress, which would exceed the Treasury Department's statutory authority. In addition, they claim that DOGE's access violates federal administrative law and the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine.

It also accuses Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of changing the department's long-standing policy to protect sensitive personal and financial information and allowing Musk's team to access its payment systems.

"This decision disregarded legal obligations to protect such data and ignored the privacy expectations of recipients of federal funds," including states, veterans, retirees and taxpayers, the lawsuit contends.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong noted that it is unclear what DOGE is doing with the information in Treasury's systems.

"This is the largest data breach in U.S. history," Tong said in a statement Friday. "DOGE is an illegally constituted gang of rogue technologists going through confidential records, sensitive data and critical payment systems. What could possibly go wrong?" he noted.