Federal judge blocks Elon Musk’s DOGE access to critical Treasury payment system

A federal judge, citing a risk of “irreparable harm,” early Saturday temporarily restricted Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing a critical Treasury Department payment system.

A federal judge has restricted the Elon Musk-led government efficiency team from accessing a critical Treasury Department payment system. The order, issued early Saturday, stops the access temporarily and demands the destruction of any downloaded information saying there is risk of “irreparable harm.” The order from district judge Paul Engelmayer came in response to a suit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other state attorneys general against the Trump administration. The judge cited 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.” The suit alleges that the team led by Musk and staffed by young associated who were categorized as “special government employees” have been unlawfully granted access to the Treasury system that previously was restricted to government employees who needed to perform specific tasks to operate the system. The effort, which the Trump administration calls the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is intended to cut government costs drastically but has sought access to critical computer systems including the Treasury payment system, at the objection of others in the agencies, as CNN previously reported. “The conduct of Doge members presents a unique security risk to the States and State residents whose data is held,” the original complaint charged.