Early on a Saturday, a federal judge imposed a halt on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, barring them from gaining access to Treasury Department files. These files included highly confidential information such as the Social Security and banking details of countless American citizens. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued this preliminary inhibition on the back of a lawsuit by 19 Democratic attorneys general against current president, Donald Trump. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court based in New York City, making the claim that Trump’s administration allowed Musk’s unit to violate federal law by accessing the Treasury Department’s central payment system.
The system in dispute is responsible for disbursing tax refunds, Social Security benefits, and several levels of benefits to veterans, among other things. It sends trillions of dollars every year and encompasses a vast collection of the personal and financial details of Americans. Judge Engelmayer further dictated that anyone unauthorized since Jan. 20 to access this confidential data must promptly delete every copy of the material extracted from Treasury Department systems. A follow-up hearing was positioned for Feb. 14.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which also goes by the acronym DOGE, was founded with the objective of identifying and eradicating what the Trump administration perceives as excessive government spending. The fact that DOGE has been permitted access to Treasury records and has been inspecting multiple government agencies has invoked extensive concern among critics about Musk’s growing influence. Conversely, his supporters jubilantly envision a potential reining in of inflated government expenditures.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, having initiated the lawsuit through her office, voiced her reservations about the security implications of DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department data. Additionally, she aired the possibility of an illegal freeze of federal funds. She expressed strong views regarding this unelected assembly, led by the richest man on earth, asserting they are unauthorized to have this data, which they explicitly sought to unlawfully halt payments that millions of Americans depend upon; these payments constitute healthcare, child care, and other pivotal programs.
James pointed out that the President lacks the authority to share Americans’ private information at his own discretion, nor can he halt federal payments that have been sanctioned by Congress. The lawsuit also includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
The case against DOGE argues that their access to Treasury records could disrupt funding already assigned by Congress, thereby exceeding the statutory authority of the Treasury Department. This access is considered a violation of federal administrative law and breaches the U.S. Constitution’s doctrine of separation of powers. The case also blames Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for modifying the department’s enduring policy for shielding personally identifiable data and financial information to permit Musk and his DOGE team entry to its payment systems.
The lawsuit argues that this move failed to acknowledge legal duties to safeguard such data, and blatantly overlooked the privacy expectations of federal fund recipients. This includes veterans, states, retirees, and taxpayers. William Tong, the Attorney General of Connecticut, pertinently questioned DOGE’s intentions with the information in the Treasury’s systems.
Tong classified this incident as the ‘most considerable data infringement in American history’. He described DOGE as an unlawfully assembled group of defiant tech enthusiasts, carelessly rummaging confidential records, sensitive data, and crucial payment systems. He sarcastically questioned, ‘What could possibly go wrong?’
The Treasury Department affirms that this review is merely an evaluation of the system’s integrity and insists that it does not involve any modifications. This assertion is backed by two anonymous individuals who expressed that Musk’s team initiated the inquiry in search of methods to suspend payments made by the U.S. Agency for International Development. These are funds that Trump and Musk aim to terminate. However, due to fears of retaliation, the two individuals requested anonymity.
Additionally, Democratic lawmakers have called upon the Treasury Department to conduct an internal investigation into DOGE’s admission to the government’s payment structure. Concurrently, labor unions and advocacy groups have initiated legal action to forbid the review of the payment system, voicing concerns over its legal standing. In a recent proceeding, a judge in Washington issued a temporary restriction on two individuals, allowing them ‘read only’ permissions.