Judge temporarily blocks ‘DOGE’ staffers from accessing federal payment systems
A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked an effort led by Elon Musk from accessing federal payment systems that hold millions of Americans’ sensitive personal data and financial information.
North Carolina had joined 18 other states Friday in suing the Trump administration for granting the so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment systems.
United States District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer wrote that his “firm assessment” was that allowing DOGE staffers such access could cause “irreparable harm.”
“That is both because of 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,” Engelmayer said in his decision.
Engelmayer set a Feb. 14 hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in New York to discuss a longer-lasting injunction against DOGE.
In a statement, N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson said that Engelmayer had recognized the administration’s move to hand DOGE access to the Treasury Department was “a violation of federal law and a threat to people’s privacy and security.”
“For now, DOGE can’t access the treasury system and the data it holds — including Social Security numbers,” Jackson said. “We’re going to keep fighting this case to uphold the longstanding federal protections of Americans’ confidential financial data.”
The payment systems in question are housed under the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Services, which the lawsuit describes as the federal government’s checkbook.
The bureau is responsible for disbursing funds from many essential federal programs, the lawsuit states, including Medicaid, disaster relief funds from FEMA, grant program funding for law enforcement and criminal justice programs, Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits, child care tax credits, federal employee wages and federal tax refunds.
According to the complaint, the bureau handles 1.2 billion transactions a year, and sends out 90% of all federal payments.
The lawsuit states that until recently, only a limited number of career civil servants with necessary security clearances had access to the bureau’s payment systems.
Beginning on Feb. 2, the lawsuit states, the Treasury Department started implementing a new policy granting access to political appointees and “special government employees” who are staffing DOGE.
President Donald Trump has touted DOGE as a necessary effort to identify and eliminate government waste.
In their lawsuit, North Carolina and the other states argue the objective of DOGE is to block federal funds from “reaching beneficiaries who do not align” with Trump’s agenda.
DOGE aides have moved quickly in recent days to terminate government contracts they have deemed to be wasteful, and identify ways to cut costs across the entire federal government.
The states argue that in addition to giving DOGE staffers “the unprecedented and unlawful ability” to block disbursements from the Treasury Department, the new policy granting expanded access “poses huge cybersecurity risks.”
Among other data, the personally identifiable information stored in federal payment systems includes Social Security and bank account numbers, as well as “confidential financial information about the amount and type of payment being made.”
Friday’s lawsuit is the third lawsuit North Carolina has joined against the Trump administration with other states under Jackson, who was sworn in last month.
The other two multistate lawsuits Jackson joined seek to block Trump’s executive order that attempted to end birthright citizenship, and the new administration’s efforts to freeze certain federal grants and other funding while a review of spending is conducted.
After Jackson won last November’s contest for attorney general, GOP state lawmakers moved to limit his powers by prohibiting him from taking positions on state laws being challenged in court that are different from the positions maintained by GOP legislative leaders.
The law containing that power shift, and others targeting Gov. Josh Stein and other recently elected Democratic statewide officials, also blocks the attorney general from taking positions in court that would lead to a state law being struck down.
Another legislative effort, a one-page bill filed by three Republican lawmakers this week, seeks to prevent Jackson from participating in any more lawsuits against Trump’s executive actions.
The 15-line bill, sponsored by Sens. Eddie Settle, Bobby Hanig and Tim Moffitt, would block the attorney general from joining as a party, amicus, or any other participant, in any legal actions brought in state or federal courts that seek to invalidate any executive order issued by the president.
This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM.
