A federal judge has temporarily blocked political appointees and special government employees, including those who work for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), from accessing sensitive and confidential information stored within the Treasury Department. The decision follows a lawsuit filed by 19 state attorneys general alleging that Elon Musk and his DOGE staffers had no authority to access Treasury Department data containing Americans’ social security numbers and other confidential financial information. The judge’s temporary restraining order prohibits access to Treasury Department payment records and systems containing personally identifiable information and confidential financial data, and requires the destruction of any downloaded material by those who had previous access to such data. A hearing is scheduled for February 14 to determine whether a preliminary injunction should be issued in the case. The Trump administration had previously agreed to limit access to the data to only two DOGE staffers, but one of them, Marko Elez, resigned after being linked to a controversial social media account. Vice President JD Vance defended Elez, prompting Musk to promise to reinstate him at DOGE. The White House and Department of Justice have not yet commented on the situation. In a separate case, union members and retirees also sued the government over access to Treasury Department data by DOGE staffers, alleging a violation of federal privacy laws.
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