Elon Musk’s D.O.G.E (Department of Government Efficiency) just got slapped with a major legal block. A federal judge has today officially barred Elon and his team from accessing the US Treasury’s payment system.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the order after Elon boasted on Monday that his team was “rapidly shutting down” government remittances. The Treasury’s payment network processes trillions annually, including Social Security and Medicare disbursements, which Elon claimed were taking way too much from the government’s budget.
The legal hit comes as representatives of federal employees and retirees took action, filing a lawsuit claiming Elon’s involvement is a direct threat to privacy. They told the Judge that sharing sensitive financial data with D.O.G.E “deprives them of privacy protections guaranteed by federal law.”
The court wasted no time agreeing, issuing a temporary order to block Elon’s D.O.G.E from getting its hands on any more Treasury information.
D.O.G.E’s inner circle targeted in the court order
The US government tried damage control by telling the court that only two D.O.G.E insiders had access to Treasury data: Tom Krause, CEO of Cloud Software Group, and 25-year-old coding prodigy Marko Elez. But that clearly didn’t sway Judge Kollar-Kotelly.
Elon himself, according to her order, won’t be able to review any Treasury-related data. Tensions have been building ever since Elon hinted that D.O.G.E was unilaterally canceling “illegal” payments from federal programs.
Treasury officials, panicking over Elon’s perceived authority, scrambled to reassure the public. Donald Trump addressed the chaos directly, saying, “Elon can’t do—and won’t do—anything without our approval.”
Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, also stepped in, promising Elon would avoid conflicts of interest if any of his companies had business tied to D.O.G.E’s oversight. “If Elon encounters conflicts related to contracts his companies hold, he will excuse himself. He has followed all applicable laws,” she said.
Meanwhile, labor organizations filed a separate lawsuit on Wednesday to block D.O.G.E from accessing systems at the Department of Labor, fearing it could be Elon’s next target. They’ve accused Elon’s team of storming through federal networks without waiting for legal approval.
The lawsuit said, “D.O.G.E seeks to gain access to sensitive systems before courts can stop them, dismantle agencies before Congress asserts budget control, and intimidate employees who resist.”
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