The administration of US President Donald Trump has agreed to temporarily restrict Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive financial data at the Treasury Department. The decision, reached late on February 5, comes in response to a lawsuit filed by union members and retirees who accused the agency of engaging in “unlawful action” by providing private payment data to DOGE.

The lawsuit alleges that the Treasury Department has improperly granted DOGE access to confidential financial records, raising concerns about privacy violations and the potential misuse of sensitive information. In a proposed court order submitted by the Justice Department, the government stated that “The Defendants will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.”

However, an exception was made for two special government employees-Tom Krause, former CEO of Cloud Software Group, and Marko Elez, a 25-year-old engineer who has worked at Musk’s companies, including X and SpaceX. According to the document, Krause and Elez will retain limited “read-only” access to certain Treasury records “as needed” for their duties. The proposed restriction will remain in effect until a legal hearing scheduled for February 24, pending approval by US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

During a hearing earlier on February 5, Justice Department lawyer Bradley Humphreys refuted the claims made by the plaintiffs, stating that the allegations of unauthorized data sharing were “incorrect.” He asserted that the special government employees assigned to the Treasury Department were........

© Blitz