Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) was temporarily prevented by a US judge early on Saturday from accessing Treasury Department records that contained tidbits about millions of Americans ‘ sensitive personal information, including their bank account numbers and social security numbers.
Following the preliminary order, US district judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the order in response to a federal court case involving Elon Musk’s staff’s access to sensitive government payment methods in violation of federal law.
As Democrats and other parties fight Trump and his cost-cutting king Musk in court, this number rises to the slew of legal proceedings. A Massachusetts federal judge temporarily suspended a plan spearheaded by Musk to reduce the size of the US government by urging the nation’s more than two million government employees to leave through a large buyout on Thursday.
Musk, the world’s richest person and President Donald Trump’s biggest donor, is in charge of a free-ranging entity called the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) that aims to gut the government.
Who Is The Crew, And What Is Expand?
Despite its name, DOGE is not a government office, and Musk does not bring a state income. The agency’s design has drawn claims from authorities unions, watchdogs and public attention groups alike.
Exactly who makes up Depends is questionable. A list of DOGE people has not been made public by the Trump administration. It is not specified how many people have enrolled in each organization or how they are being paid.
However, DOGE’s activities since Trump’s election to the White House appear to be concentrating on technology and staff in line with its stated goal of reducing government spending. Employees with connections to Depends and frequently to Musk’s businesses, including SpaceX and Tesla, are fanning out across federal agencies to gain access to vulnerable systems and data about government employees and payments.
The Office of Personnel Management ( OPM) and the General Services Administration ( GSA ), along with their computer systems, are now being taken over by Musk and his DOGE lieutenants.
OPM is the human resources finger of the US government, overseeing 2.2 million government workers. In the past week, emails have been sent out offering financial incentives to federal employees to start from it. The GSA manages national home and oversees most state contracts.
At least four of Musk’s current and former advisers are members of a group that has taken control of OPM, leaving some of its top managers without access to their own computers, according to sources who spoke to Reuters.
Next Thursday, Musk visited the GSA while members of his team moved into the company. The team gained access to the US Treasury Department’s payment system the day after it was discovered that it contains the personal information of millions of Americans who receive Social Security benefits, tax refunds, and other funds from the government. It sends out more than$ 6 trillion annually on behalf of federal agencies.
According to Michael Linden, a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget during the former president’s management,” Moto’s aides have amazing potential power” in their hands.
According to Linden,” They could get to pick and choose which bills the federal government makes.”
Musk’s Control In Washington
Musk’s swift takeover of US government agencies has enabled the South African-born businessman to impose unprecedented control over America’s 2.2-million-member federal workforce and begin a serious reshaping of government.
The country’s richest person and an ally of President Donald Trump, Musk, 53, has in two weeks created a new heart of power in Washington as he executes Trump’s cost-cutting effort to reduce the size of the US government.
With its efforts to shut down USAID, the country’s principal humanitarian aid organization, USAID, has sparked a wave of fear among federal workers and public demonstrations in Washington.
Is Enjoys Trump’s Help
Nevertheless, Musk operates at Trump’s satisfaction. The tycoon had to ask the White House for authorization for any of his actions, the leader said to reporters on Monday.
” Elon can’t complete and won’t do anything without our assent, and we’ll give him the acceptance, where appropriate, where no appropriate, we didn’t. But he reports in”, he said.
According to a White House source,” those leading this mission with Elon Musk are doing so in full compliance with federal law, appropriate security clearances, and as employees of the relevant agencies, not as outside advisors or entities.”