Judge Blocks Musk’s DOGE From Accessing Treasury Payments Data

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s government efficiency group from accessing the U.S. Treasury’s payment system.

The ruling Saturday (Feb. 8) came after a group of 19 attorneys general from Democrat-controlled states sued President Donald Trump and the Treasury, arguing that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to treasury data violates the law.

“This morning, we won a court order blocking Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, from accessing Americans’ private data,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a post on the Musk-owned X.

“DOGE employees must destroy all records they’ve obtained. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: no one is above the law.”

The suit centered around DOGE’s ability to access and possibly change payment files in the federal system used to issue things like tax refunds and Social Security benefits. 

It came amid a flurry of activity in Washington this weekend centered around Trump’s efforts to reshape the government, including a move that essentially halted all activity by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

In his ruling Saturday, Manhattan-based Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote that states would be harmed by DOGE’s efforts “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.”

In addition, the judge wrote, the attorneys general have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, with the States’ statutory claims presenting as particularly strong.

The suit came after another judge limited DOGE’s access to just two employees with “read only” privileges, following another lawsuit by labor unions. 

Engelmayers’ ruling mandates that the Trump administration cannot give political appointees, special government employees or those outside the Treasury — Musk included — access to Treasury data. The temporary order is in place until Friday (Feb. 14), when another hearing is set to be held on the matter.

Following the ruling, Musk called for Engelmayer to be impeached, calling him a “corrupt judge protecting corruption.” He also shared a post from conservative commentator Glenn Beck, who incorrectly claimed the ruling blocked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessert from accessing his department’s data.

In an interview with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster last week, Amias Gerety — a high-ranking Treasury official during the Obama presidency — said that more litigation is guaranteed if DOGE ends up trying to interfere with payments.

“The mere fact of access, of read-only access, probably isn’t litigable. But the moment they try to block, delay or divert payments, lawsuits will fly,” said Gerety, investor partner at QED.

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