A federal judge has ordered a temporary restriction on the Elon Musk-led Department of Governmental Efficiency’s ability to access crucial Treasury Department payment systems, arguing that there is a risk of “irreparable harm” unless emergency relief is provided.
The order, which was issued on Saturday by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, blocks DOGE’s ability to access sensitive payment systems responsible for administering tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments, and federal employees’ wages. In addition, the judge ordered the destruction of any information that has been downloaded from the system since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, arguing “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.”
The newly established department has had a tumultuous inception; first, it was revealed that the department was staffed entirely by men under the age of 26 handpicked by Musk, including one who resigned after racist tweets were discovered on his X account, including one tweet calling on people to “Normalize Indian hate.” Another member of the team, who is just 19 years old, was fired from a previous internship after he allegedly leaked company secrets to a competitor.
ADVERTISEMENT
For Trump, who has already voiced his frustration with Democrat attempts to impede DOGE’s efforts, calling them “lunatics” at an exclusive dinner held at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, this is bound to be another upsetting blow. In the past week, several rulings have temporarily halted the administration’s attempts to overhaul parts of the federal government, including one blocking the dismantling of USAID, another pausing the Thursday deadline for the administration’s buyout offer for federal employees, and another blocking Trump’s attempted federal spending freeze. On Saturday, the White House described this latest restriction as “judicial overreach.”
Engelmayer has set a hearing on the matter for Feb. 14.
