Access to the crucial Treasury payment system has been refused to Elon Musk's DOGE by a federal judge.
A federal court, citing a danger of "irreparable harm," has temporarily barred Elon Musk's government efficiency team from using a vital Treasury Department payment system.
The judge's decision, issued early Saturday, temporarily suspends access to a sensitive payment system that handles Americans' tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments, and government employee wages.
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer ordered that any downloaded information from the payment system by anyone with access to it since January 20 be destroyed, citing "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."
A hearing on the subject was scheduled for February 14.
The White House described Saturday's ruling as "judicial overreach."
"Grandstanding government efficiency speaks volumes about those who would rather delay much-needed change with legal shenanigans than collaborate with the Trump Administration to rid the government of waste, fraud, and abuse," White House spokeswoman Harrison Fields told CNN in a statement.
Engelmayer's verdict came in response to a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other state attorneys general against the Trump administration.
Trump and Musk have upended the federal workforce in their efforts to reduce the government, causing turmoil, anxiety, and rage, as well as many lawsuits that have resulted in judicial intervention.
Musk also defended the access in a social media post on Saturday, claiming that DOGE and the Treasury Department "jointly agreed" to requirements involving government payments, such as "all outgoing government payments have a payment categorization code, which is necessary in order to pass financial audits."
"The aforementioned apparent and important improvements are being done by current, long-term career government personnel, not anybody from @DOGE. It's insane that these modifications didn't exist before!" Musk added.
Saturday's injunction comes on the heels of another court decision that temporarily halted the administration's efforts to dissolve the US Agency for International Development.
A federal court also postponed a Thursday deadline for the administration's so-called buyout offer to federal employees while additional legal procedures on the program were underway. This followed previous federal court judgments that halted a broad government spending freeze.
The attorneys general's lawsuit claims that the team led by Musk and manned by young colleagues classified as "special government employees" was improperly provided access to the Treasury system, which was previously confined to certain government officials.
The Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is attempting to drastically reduce government costs but has requested access to critical computer systems, including the Treasury payment system, over the objections of others in the agencies, as CNN previously reported.
DOGE's activities have sparked a heated political discussion and emergency court proceedings about its access to the system and the administration's probable desire to use it to switch off payments as needed.
"The conduct of Doge members presents a unique security risk to the states and state residents whose data is held," the complaint said.
The payment system serves more than 250 government entities and facilitates an incredible number of vital individual payments. It is critical to the functioning of the United States government and the lives of millions of Americans.
The administration's actions have enraged Democratic senators, unions, and demonstrators who are concerned about Musk's intrusion into US residents' private data.
Musk and his DOGE team attempted to disrupt or obtain access to many government nerve centers, including those in charge of the federal workforce, real estate portfolio, computer systems, and systems and records management.
The Trump administration's earliest steps to upend the federal government were most noticeable at USAID, where the president imposed a block on most international funding.
In a related court judgment late Friday concerning USAID, another federal judge ordered the Trump administration to halt plans to place at least 2,200 staff on administrative leave and to temporarily restore 500 additional suspended workers.