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A federal judge issued an emergency temporary order Saturday blocking Elon Musk’s government reform team from gaining access to sensitive Treasury Department data containing personal and financial information of millions of Americans.
The temporary restraining order, issued by US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer and effective until a February 14 hearing, prevents “political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from outside agencies” from accessing Treasury Department systems. The order also mandates that anyone who has already accessed such data since Trump’s inauguration must immediately dispose of any downloaded materials.
Musk, currently the wealthiest individual globally, heads Trump’s federal cost-reduction initiative through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The legal challenge was initiated Friday by attorneys general from 19 states, who filed against President Trump, the Treasury Department, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
This is New York Judge Paul Engelmayer who just forbade the Secretary of the Treasury to access his own data.
Now, what this motherfucker just did,
he just gave Trump ACESS to audit, investigate and obliterate rogue and corrupt judges.In others words, @DOGE has now… pic.twitter.com/F1pdCOxWpl
— 🇺🇸RealRobert🇺🇸 (@Real_RobN) February 9, 2025
The lawsuit contends that the administration violated regulations by providing Musk’s DOGE staff broad access to sensitive Treasury data. While Musk reportedly holds status as a “special government employee,” he is neither a federal worker nor government official. DOGE lacks full departmental status, which would necessitate congressional approval.
As a prominent Trump supporter and donor, Musk and his team have aggressively pursued changes across federal agencies since the administration began, including suspending foreign aid, reducing budgets, and attempting widespread government worker terminations.
Taking to X on Saturday, Musk labeled Engelmayer an “activist” and claimed Democrats were “trying to hide possibly the biggest fraud scheme in human history!”
The judge’s order emphasized the states would suffer “irreparable harm” without intervention, citing risks of sensitive data exposure and increased system vulnerability to security breaches.
Recent controversy emerged when reports surfaced about Musk’s team accessing sensitive Treasury data. Internal Treasury assessments characterized the DOGE team’s system access as “the single biggest insider threat the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) has ever faced.”
The multi-state lawsuit, including New York and California, claimed the administration granted extensive access to BFS payment systems to “at least one 25-year-old DOGE associate.” The suit expressed concerns about cybersecurity risks and potential misuse of states’ residents’ information. It also noted reports suggesting federal agency data was being transferred to a private third-party’s open-source AI system.
Elon Musk has called for the impeachment of Judge Paul Engelmayer, who blocked DOGE’s access to Treasury data: “A corrupt judge protecting corruption. He needs to be impeached NOW!” While I have concern over aspects of Engelmayer's order, it is not a matter for impeachment…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 9, 2025
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin stated that Trump “has allowed an unelected billionaire to infiltrate key federal agencies and systems that store Social Security numbers, banking information, and other extremely sensitive data for millions of people.”
Additional legal challenges have emerged as Trump rapidly implements government spending and workforce changes. Courts have blocked attempts to overturn birthright citizenship and temporarily halted federal worker buyout programs.
The US Agency for International Development faces significant changes, with ordered repatriation of international staff and dramatic workforce reductions from 10,000 to approximately 300 employees. Labor unions are contesting these actions’ legality, with a federal judge recently pausing plans to place 2,200 USAID workers on paid leave.
Democrats maintain that Trump cannot constitutionally shut down government agencies without congressional authorization.
