US Judge Blocks Elon Musk’s DOGE Team from Accessing Treasury Data

U.S. federal judge has issued an emergency order preventing Elon Musk’s government reform team from accessing personal and financial data stored at the Treasury Department. The ruling, which came early Saturday, places immediate restrictions on Musk’s team amid growing concerns over data security and potential legal violations.

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer’s order specifically prohibits political appointees, special government employees, and outside agency staff assigned to the Treasury Department from accessing its payment systems and other sensitive financial records. The temporary restriction will remain in effect until a hearing scheduled for February 14.

Additionally, the order mandates that anyone who has accessed Treasury data since Donald Trump’s inauguration as president on January 20 must immediately destroy all copies of downloaded materials.

The emergency ruling follows a lawsuit filed on Friday by attorneys general from 19 states against Trump, the Department of the Treasury, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

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The lawsuit alleges that the administration unlawfully expanded access to Treasury data, allowing members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to retrieve confidential financial information.

Judge Engelmayer justified the injunction by emphasizing the risk of unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data and increased cybersecurity threats posed by the policy.

“The states that sued would face irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief,” Engelmayer wrote. “That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”

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Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, was appointed by Trump to lead the government’s cost-cutting initiative under the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His role has sparked significant controversy, particularly following reports that he and his team had been accessing highly sensitive data within the Treasury Department.

According to an internal Treasury assessment, Musk’s team’s access to federal payment systems posed “the single biggest insider threat the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”

This revelation has raised alarm bells among government officials and legal experts, with many questioning the extent of Musk’s authority and the risks associated with giving private sector figures access to government financial systems.