from Your News:
A federal judge halts the Trump Administration’s efforts to examine Treasury Department systems, sparking outrage from Elon Musk.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A significant legal setback unfolded for the Trump administration on Saturday as U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, issued an order temporarily blocking Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing a critical Treasury Department payment system. The judge’s ruling also mandates the immediate destruction of all data obtained since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025.
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The Treasury system in question manages sensitive transactions, including tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments, and federal employees’ salaries. Judge Engelmayer justified the order by stating, “The risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 Democrat state attorneys general. The plaintiffs argued that DOGE’s access violated the policies restricting the use of Treasury data to specific government employees. James referred to Musk’s initiative as “unlawful” and characterized it as a “gross overreach.”
CNN reported that Engelmayer’s order also followed a similar ruling by Clinton appointee Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly earlier this week. Judge Kollar-Kotelly had temporarily halted DOGE’s access to Treasury records after government employee unions filed lawsuits opposing the expanded data access.
Engelmayer’s ruling escalates the restrictions further, not only halting access but also demanding the immediate destruction of all previously accessed data by DOGE or any associated personnel.
In response to the ruling, Elon Musk took to Twitter to express his frustration. “This ruling is absolutely insane!” Musk wrote. “How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent? That’s literally impossible! Something super shady is going to protect scammers.”
This ruling is absolutely insane!
How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent?
That’s literally impossible!
Something super shady is going to protect scammers. https://t.co/7Eyy9ZsN7A
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 8, 2025
The order also follows another ruling from Judge Carl Nichols earlier in the week, which paused the Trump administration’s attempt to significantly downsize the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Judge Nichols, a Trump appointee, entered a temporary restraining order against reducing the workforce of USAID to just a few hundred employees.
With a hearing for the DOGE case scheduled for February 14, the Trump administration faces increasing legal hurdles in its efforts to implement government reforms. These rulings highlight the broader resistance within the judiciary to Trump’s initiatives to streamline government operations and eliminate inefficiencies.
