A federal judge on Friday granted an injunction requested by 19 attorneys general to prevent the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department’s central payment system.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas extends the pause by issuing a preliminary injunction, a legal step that blocks access to the records while the case continues. In her 64-page decision, Vargas stated that she was granting the injunction due to concerns over the possible disclosure of the states’ bank records.
However, she also clarified that the plaintiffs “have not demonstrated that they are entitled to the broad and sweeping relief they seek, which would far exceed the scope of the present TRO (Temporary Restraining Order).”
Vargas is giving Trump administration attorneys the opportunity to correct any issues to ensure the protection of sensitive information. A report is due on March 24. Last week, a federal judge extended a temporary order to block DOGE from accessing Treasury payment systems.
A lawsuit filed by the 19 attorneys general claims that DOGE illegally accessed the Treasury Department’s central payment system at the Trump administration’s direction. The payment systems contain information related to Americans’ Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits, tax refunds, and more.
Lawyers for the administration argued that the temporary restraining order “causes ongoing constitutional harm to the Treasury Department’s ability to make management decisions within its lawful discretion.”
Defence attorneys maintained that the Treasury Department’s actions were not unlawful. Treasury officials denied violating privacy laws, stating that only two members of the DOGE team had been granted “read-only” access to the payment system’s information.
The lawsuit was filed in New York by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, a vocal Trump critic. It includes attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
“We just won a court order stopping DOGE and unauthorized, unelected, and unvetted individuals like Elon Musk from accessing people’s private data and blocking federal funds,” James wrote Friday on X. “We will keep fighting to protect all Americans from this administration’s destruction.”
The attorneys general argue that granting DOGE access to the payment system puts Americans’ sensitive personal information, such as bank account details and Social Security numbers, at risk.
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