Judge temporarily halts Musk, DOGE access to Treasury’s payment system

Feb 8

Devin Pavlou Digital Producer

By Devin Pavlou (Digital Producer)

A federal judge temporarily prevented Elon Musk’s team at the Department of Governmental Efficiency from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment system, citing risks of irreparable harm. The judge also ordered the destruction of any downloaded material and restricted further access.
Musk was appointed by President Trump to find ways to cut government costs and claimed the Treasury was sending billions to fraudulent entities.
The judge’s order came in response to a lawsuit alleging that Trump breached the Constitution by giving Musk control of the system.

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A federal judge has prevented Elon Musk’s team at the Department of Governmental Efficiency from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment system. This comes after his team was given access to the system by the Treasury on Jan. 31. However, the judge said they had access since Jan. 20.

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Why did the judge prevent Musk access?

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the emergency order on Saturday, Feb. 8. He temporarily restricted access to the system, saying there was a risk of “irreparable harm.”

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Engelmater ordered any officials who had access to the system to “destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems.” He also restricted the Trump administration from granting access to those officials.

The emergency order said the system contained highly sensitive material, including bank details. The order claimed the risk of leaks was heightened due to the sensitive nature of the system.

Why does Musk want access to the payment system?

President Donald Trump made Musk the head of DOGE and tasked him with finding ways the government could cut costs.

The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups.

They literally never denied a payment in their entire career.

Not even once. https://t.co/kInoGWdw4C
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2025

Musk has previously claimed the Treasury Department was sending billions of dollars to fraudulent entities. However, experts said the system had no legal authority to block payments that have already been approved.

“The Bureau of Fiscal Service isn’t a policy job with political appointees. It is totally mechanical: agencies tell the Bureau who gets tax credits, who gets grants, which contractors to pay — and they get the money out,” Natasha Sarin, a professor at Yale Law School and a former Biden Treasury Department official, told the Hill.

Some were concerned Musk or his team would attempt to halt payments and stop funding for some federal programs like Medicare or Social Security. Both the Treasury Department and the White House said that Musk’s team only could review the integrity of payments.

However, The Associated Press reported that Musk had tried to stop payments to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

What does the payment system do?

In the most simple terms, the Treasury Department’s payment system releases funds for federal programs and departments. Those include Americans’ tax returns, Social Security payments and disability payments.

The money has already been approved by Congress to be released. Experts said that there’s little the agency can do to stop or limit these payments from going through.

What’s next in the case?

Judge Engelmayer’s order came in response to a lawsuit filed on Friday, Feb. 7, by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other Democratic state attorneys general. The lawsuit alleges that when Trump gave Musk control of the system, he had breached the Constitution.

The lawsuit claims Trump breached the Constitution by failing to “faithfully execute the laws enacted by Congress.”

This morning, we won a court order blocking Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, from accessing Americans’ private data.

Musk and his DOGE employees must destroy all records they've obtained.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: no one is above the law. https://t.co/2lCS2FD1MT
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 8, 2025

On Saturday morning, James posted on X, saying she was protecting Americans’ private data.

The defendants, which include President Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Treasury Department, must appear on Feb. 14 before Judge Jeannette A. Vargas. She will be handling the case permanently, according to Judge Engelmayer.