Elon Musk’s authorities efficiency team has been partially hampered by a national judge’s citing a risk of “irreparable harm” when accessing a crucial Treasury Department payment system is briefly hampered by a federal judge.
The judge’s order, issued Saturday, partially halts access to a sensitive that distributes Americans ‘ tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments and federal workers ‘ pay.
Anyone who has accessed the payment system since January 20 is required to delete any downloaded information, according to US District Judge Paul Engelmayer, citing” the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the increased risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”
On February 14, a hearing on the subject was scheduled.
The Trump administration is being sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other state attorneys general in response to Engelmayer’s order.
The team under Musk’s leadership, which is alleged to have been unlawfully given access to the Treasury system, which was previously restricted to specific government employees, by young associates categorized as” special government employees.”
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is attempting to significantly lower government costs, but the Trump administration has sought access to crucial computer systems, including the Treasury payment system, at the agency’s request, according to a report from CNN.
Due to DOGE’s actions, there has been a heated political debate and emergency legal action over its use of the system and its choice of payment methods.
The lawsuit claimed that” the conduct of Doge members presents a unique security risk to State residents whose data is held”
The payment system is the conduit for an extraordinary swath of crucial individual payments and provides services for more than 250 federal agencies. It is essential to the government of the United States ‘ operations and the lives of millions of Americans.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
This report was written by CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Phil Mattingly.