Early Saturday, a federal judge temporarily blocked billionaire Elon Musk’s government efficiency team and political appointees from the Trump administration from accessing government systems used to process trillions of dollars in payments, citing the risk of improper disclosure of sensitive information.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued the order after a coalition of 19 predominantly Democratic-led U.S. states filed a lawsuit late Friday, arguing that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency lacks the legal authority to access the U.S. Department of Treasury systems.
The lawsuit claimed that Musk and his team could disrupt federal funding for health clinics, preschools, climate initiatives, and other programs, and that Republican President Donald Trump could use the information to advance his political agenda.
DOGE’s access to the system also “poses huge cybersecurity risks that put vast amounts of funding for the states and their residents in peril,” the state attorneys general argued. They sought a temporary restraining order blocking DOGE’s access.
The judge, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, stated that the states’ claims were “particularly strong” and warranted him acting on their request for emergency relief, pending a further hearing before another judge on February 14.
“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,” Engelmayer wrote.
His order bars political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from agencies outside the Treasury Department from accessing Treasury Department payment and data systems.
The judge also directed that anyone prohibited under his order from accessing those systems immediately destroy anything they copied or downloaded.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat leading the case, posted on social media that the order prevents Musk, the world’s richest person, from accessing Americans’ private data.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: no one is above the law,” James wrote on Musk’s social media platform X.
The White House and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump deputized Musk to lead DOGE in identifying fraud and waste in government. Musk’s efforts have alarmed Democrats and advocacy groups who argue he is overstepping his authority by seeking to dismantle agencies responsible for critical government programs and firing federal workers en masse.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a Trump appointee, stated this week that the department’s payment system will not be affected by Musk and that decisions to stop payments will be made by other agencies.
