Federal Judges Extend Block on Musk's Government Cost-Cutting Team from Accessing US Treasury Payment Systems

A federal judge in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, extended a temporary block on Elon Musk's government cost-cutting team from accessing payment systems at the US Treasury Department on Friday.

Musk's team, commonly referred to as the "Department of Government Efficiency," has been sweeping through federal agencies since Republican President Donald Trump became president last month. The team, led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, aims to root out wasteful spending and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in various government programs.

Vargas said she would not yet rule on a request from 19 Democratic state attorneys general for a longer-lasting preliminary injunction on DOGE's access to the Treasury systems responsible for trillions of dollars of payments. The attorneys general alleged that Musk's team has no legal power to access sensitive personal information and could disrupt funding for health clinics, preschools, and other programs.

However, a federal judge in Washington declined a request by unions and nonprofits to temporarily block Musk's team from accessing records at the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. U.S. District Judge John Bates said DOGE was an agency allowing it to detail its staff to other government departments.

Meanwhile, another judge allowed the billionaire's DOGE staffers to access records at health, labor, and consumer financial protection agencies.

Musk reposted a message on his X social media platform praising the ruling, calling it "a HUGE win."

The Trump administration has said that access is crucial for Musk's team to identify and eliminate waste in government programs. However, courts have already blocked many of Trump's initiatives, including ones related to slashing the size of large departments.

Around 70 lawsuits have been filed challenging Trump initiatives since he took office, with many policies facing court challenges due to their potential impact on certain groups.