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Judge keeps Musk's DOGE from further digging into US Gov's spending

Judge Engelmayer is to hear Further arguments on Feb. 14

Citing potential “irreparable harm,” US Federal Judge Paul A. Engelmayer Saturday blocked Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing specific records within the Treasury Department, thus acquiescing to a request from New York Attorney General Letitia James and 19 States under Democratic rule.

The plaintiffs contended Musk's team accessing this data could pose risks to cybersecurity and violate federal law by potentially mishandling or exposing sensitive personal and financial information of millions of Americans.

Engelmayer also ruled that any data already accessed by DOGE must be destroyed immediately. This injunction is in place until at least February 14, 2025, when further arguments involving national security, privacy rights, and political motivations, will be heard.

Engelmayer banned the DOGE from accessing payment systems and other data stored at the Treasury Department to “all political appointees” as well as “all special agents of the Government,” Musk included.

Musk heads the agency created by President Donald Trump to monitor federal spending, which has led to halting numerous foreign aid programs as well as cutting budgets in several areas, such as those destined to sexual diversity and inclusion policies.

In this scenario, the attorneys general of 19 states -including New York and California- filed this case against Trump, the Treasury Department, and its Secretary Scott Bessent. They claim the measure violated the law by extending access to sensitive Treasury Department data to DOGE staff. The plaintiffs contend that the DOGE had been granted “virtually unfettered access” to sensitive data to “at least one 25-year-old DOGE worker” who had the “authority to view or modify numerous critical files.”

The opposition's move also argued that Trump “has allowed a billionaire who was not popularly elected to infiltrate key federal agencies and systems that store Social Security numbers, banking information and other extremely sensitive data for millions of people,” New Jersey state Attorney General Matthew Platkin explained.