A federal judge has temporarily blocked political appointees and special government employees, including those working for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), from accessing sensitive and confidential information stored within the Treasury Department. This decision came after 19 state attorneys general sued the federal government, alleging that tech mogul Elon Musk and his DOGE staffers had no authority to access data including Americans’ social security numbers and confidential financial information. The judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing access to the Treasury Department’s data systems containing personally identifiable information. Anyone who had previous access to this data was ordered to destroy any downloaded material. A hearing is set for February 14 to consider a preliminary injunction. The White House and Department of Justice have not commented on the situation. In a related case, union members and retirees sued the government alleging that DOGE staffers’ access to Treasury Department data violated privacy laws. The Trump administration agreed to limit access to only two DOGE staffers, with restrictions on how sensitive data could be accessed. One of these staffers, Marko Elez, resigned after being linked to a social media account promoting racist views. Despite this, Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk have expressed support for Elez, with Musk promising to reinstate him at DOGE.
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