A federal judge has barred Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing millions of Americans’ financial records stored by the U.S. Treasury Department.
U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction on Saturday, ordering Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of the records. The decision follows a lawsuit by 19 state attorneys general against the Trump administration, arguing that Musk, a “special government employee,” and DOGE, which is not an official department, had been granted unlawful access.
Musk called the ruling “absolutely insane,” questioning how fraud and government waste could be addressed without examining financial records.
Judge Engelmayer ruled that states would face “irreparable harm” without immediate intervention, citing risks of data breaches and privacy violations. The injunction remains in effect until a court hearing on February 14.
