A federal judge on February 9 blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, from accessing US Treasury Department records containing sensitive personal data, including the Social Security and bank account numbers of millions of Americans.
Points of attention
- A federal judge blocked Elon Musk's Department from accessing US Treasury records with sensitive personal data, sparking outrage and protests.
- The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration allowed Musk's team to access Treasury Department's payment system in violation of federal law.
- Access to Treasury Department data by DOGE raised security concerns and the potential illegal freezing of federal funds.
- Judge Engelmayer's preliminary injunction prohibits access to classified data and orders destruction of downloaded materials.
- The case highlights the importance of safeguarding Americans' personal and financial data from unauthorized access.
Musk will not have access to Americans' bank accounts
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, alleges that the Trump administration allowed Musk's team to access the Treasury Department's central payment system, in violation of federal law.
The payment system processes tax refunds, Social Security payments, veterans benefits and more, transferring trillions of dollars each year, and contains a sprawling web of Americans' personal and financial data.
Engelmayer, appointed by the 44th US President Barack Obama, also said that anyone who has been denied access to classified information since January 20 must immediately destroy all copies of materials downloaded from Treasury Department systems. He set a hearing in the case for February 14.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed the lawsuit, said that DOGE's access to Treasury Department data creates security issues and the possibility of illegally freezing federal funds.
