A federal judge on Wednesday issued an ultimatum after hearing arguments over the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to sensitive Treasury Department records: Either the DOJ and the federal unions who brought suit agree to a temporary injunction blocking DOGE’s access, or the judge will bring them back to court on Friday to decide whether to issue a temporary restraining order.
The temporary injunction would allow two “special government employees” inside the Treasury Department — but associated with the Elon Musk’s DOGE agency — to continue accessing the records as part of DOGE’s effort to trim the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump.
Under the terms of the injunction, DOGE would also be permitted to continue planning cuts at the Treasury Department.
“I’m going to leave it to the two of you to figure out what conversations you want to have. I don’t need to be involved,” U.S. District Judge Kollar-Kotelly told the parties after extended arguments.
The hearing followed a lawsuit filed by three federal unions that alleged DOGE employees violated federal privacy laws when they accessed data from the Treasury Department, including the names, social security numbers, birthdays, bank account numbers, and addresses of taxpayers.
During the hearing, lawyers for the Department of Justice struggled to articulate how DOGE plans to use sensitive taxpayer data to reduce the size of the federal government, though they acknowledged that Musk’s group of cost-cutters are driving the direction of the entire effort.
“We have DOGE in the Executive Office of the President that sets the policy. Is that it? One group that has the records and the other group sets the policy — is that a good way to describe the distinction?” asked Judge Kollar-Kotelly.
“I think that’s accurate, Your Honor. The group outside of Treasury — the United States DOGE Services — sets the high level policy,” said DOJ attorney Bradley Humphreys.
People gather to protest outside the headquarters of the Office of Personnel Management after the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency was charged with oversight of OPM, in Washington, Feb. 2, 2025.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters
Humphreys claimed that Musk himself has not seen the information accessed from the Treasury Department.
“Our understanding is the information derived from the systems at issue is not being transmitted to him outside of the Treasury Department. He is not within the Treasury Department,” Humphreys said.
“Does he have access to it? Can he go look at it? Has he gone looked at it?” the judge asked.
” No, Your Honor — as far as our knowledge, he does not,” Humphreys responded.
Beyond that key claim — that people outside the Treasury Department have not accessed sensitive taxpayer records — Humphreys draw a blank regarding what exactly comes next.
“So, at this point, one in the executive office is developing whatever strategies they have about policy or checking or fraud or waste or whatever they want? Then it would be presumably implemented by … other people in the Treasury? Am I accurate so far?” Judge Kollar-Kotelly asked.
“I’m not sure that is accurate, and I just don’t have — I’m not, I just don’t have the information necessarily,” Humphreys responded.
“I am not trying to pin you to the wall,” the judge said later. “I am just trying to figure this out.”
The lawsuit was brought by the American Federation of Government Employees, the Service Employees International Union, and the Alliance for Retired Americans, who alleged that Musk and DOGE — with the consent of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — unlawfully accessed the sensitive records without providing any legal justification, public reasoning, or legal procedure to collect taxpayer data.
According to the lawsuit, DOGE’s “full, continuous, and ongoing access” of sensitive data risks the security of millions of Americans.
“People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his ‘DOGE.’ And federal law says they do not have to,” the lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs requested a temporary restraining order preventing the Treasury Department from providing DOGE sensitive information as well as enjoining DOGE employees from using any of the records they might have already obtained.