A federal judge in New York has temporarily restricted the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, from accessing the payment processing system of the US Department of Treasury, which handles all federal transactions. The court’s decision was made on February 8, according to Reuters.
The ruling came after the attorneys general of 19 states filed a lawsuit against DOGE, claiming that the department lacked the authority to work with this system. The lawsuit also argued that Musk and his agency could interfere with federal funding for medical facilities, preschool programs, and environmental initiatives.
In his ruling, Judge Paul Engelmayer stated that granting DOGE access to the payment system could lead to the risk of confidential data leakage and increase the system’s vulnerability to cyberattacks.
Elon Musk, head of DOGE, called the court’s decision “insane.” He noted that the department had reached an agreement with the Treasury Department that all outgoing federal payments would be accompanied by written justifications and categorization codes. The White House and the Treasury Department declined to comment on the court’s decision.
The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Musk, was established after Donald Trump’s inauguration as president on January 20. The main goal of DOGE is to improve the efficiency of the US government over the next year and a half. In the early days of its operation, the department gained access to the payment system and participated in the reorganization of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). DOGE staff also took leadership positions in federal agencies and attempted to push for mass layoffs of civil servants.
