NEW YORK - The Trump administration is seeking to reverse a federal court order that blocks Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, political appointees and others who have not had security background checks and training from accessing Treasury Department data about millions of Americans.
Justice Department lawyers said in federal court documents filed late Sunday that the order inhibited the normal flow of business at the Treasury Department, was too broad and could cut off Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, from information he needs to conduct his duties. The lawyers described the court order as “anti-constitutional.”
“Basic democratic accountability requires that every executive agency’s work be supervised by politically accountable leadership, who ultimately answer to the President,” the lawyers wrote.
The order by U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Engelmayer was issued over the weekend after attorneys general from 19 states sued Friday to stop Musk’s team from accessing sensitive files during its review of federal payment systems. The lawsuit says DOGE, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency, had no authority to access the Treasury Department’s systems and that doing so was a potentially massive cybersecurity and privacy risk.
[Treasury Department was warned DOGE access to payments marked an ‘insider threat’]
Engelmayer ruled in the emergency order that until a full hearing is conducted Friday, only specialized civil servants who have “a need for access to perform their job duties” could have contact with payment systems, and that any DOGE outsiders who had copies of data had to “immediately destroy” them.
Musk on Sunday criticized the judge on his social media platform X, echoing Trump’s routine of complaining about judges when they deliver unfavorable outcomes.
“A corrupt judge protecting corruption,” Musk wrote. “He needs to be impeached NOW!”
After becoming a financial supporter of Trump’s campaign, Musk was tapped by the president to find ways to eliminate wasteful spending.
Musk-aligned Silicon Valley executive Thomas Krause, who was tasked with reviewing Treasury Department activities for DOGE before he was picked to serve there as a high-ranking “special government employee,” told the court in an affidavit that Engelmayer’s order “could have major impacts on Treasury’s ability” to keep the payments systems operational.
Krause wrote that since Trump’s inauguration, “only one other Treasury noncareer employee” had the type of access Engelmayer barred.
That employee was Marko Elez, a 25-year-old software engineer who recently resigned from DOGE when a history of racist social media posts was uncovered, including some that supported eugenics. While Krause said in his sworn statement that Elez resigned Feb. 6 and turned in his Treasury devices and credentials, Musk wrote on X on Friday that Elez “will be brought back.”
Krause wrote that “based on technical controls in place” and a review of his work, there was no reason to believe Elez retained sensitive data.
On Monday, the state attorneys general responded to the Justice Department’s filing in documents saying that Krause’s new broad authority at the Treasury Department illustrates the urgent need to keep the judge’s order in place. Krause has not received security clearance to oversee payment systems, they wrote.
“There is no reason a political appointee would need direct access to the systems to perform their supervisory functions, and certainly no need for such access between now and Friday’s preliminary injunction ... hearing,” they wrote.
DOGE’s actions throughout the federal government have caused fear and confusion among civil servants, many of whom do not know whether their employment will continue or whether they can maintain protocols and security protections within their agencies as Musk and his team engage in aggressive efforts to cut payroll and other costs.
Members of Congress, government watchdog groups and state law enforcement officials say that DOGE’s tactics are illegal and that congressionally authorized funding for critical programs is in jeopardy as the Trump administration orders freezes on disbursements.