A federal judge in New York City early Saturday morning, Feb. 8, issued a preliminary order that at least temporarily stops Elon Musk and his computer people from accessing sensitive private information of Americans and other data in the Treasury Department’s computer systems. The ruling came as the result of a lawsuit filed late Friday, Feb. 7, by New York Attorney General Letitia Jame and a coalition composed of Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and the attorneys general of other states. The White House declined to comment on early Saturday morning whether Musk and the Trump Administration will comply with the judicial order.
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The lawsuit asserts that Elon Musk and the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” were given unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, and therefore to Americans’ most sensitive personal information, including bank account details and Social Security numbers. The lawsuit took the position that this expanded access could allow Musk and his team to block federal funds to states and programs providing health care, childcare, and other critical services.
“As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law,” said James. “President Trump does not have the power to give away Americans’ private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress. Musk and DOGE have no authority to access Americans’ private information and some of our country’s most sensitive data. I am taking action to keep our information secure, and to prevent any unconstitutional freeze on essential funding that Americans rely on every day.”
The Treasury’s central payment system controls vital funding that millions of Americans depend on, including Social Security payments, veteran’s benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments, and more. The payment system also controls billions of dollars that states rely on to support essential services like law enforcement, public education, and infrastructure repairs.
Access to BFS is limited by federal law to a select group of career civil servants with the appropriate security clearances.
With this lawsuit, James and the coalition of attorneys general are seeking an injunction preventing the Trump Administration from continuing its new policy of expanded access to BFS’s payment system, as well as a declaration that the Treasury Department’s policy change is unlawful and unconstitutional.
In addition to New York and Connecticut the states involved in filing the lawsuit Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
