A federal judge has barred Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) from accessing the personal financial records of millions of Americans held by the Treasury Department, according to court documents.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting access and ordered Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of the records they had obtained.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by 19 state attorneys general against the Trump administration after Doge—a cost-cutting initiative led by Musk—was granted access to the data.
The attorneys general argued that allowing Musk, a “special government employee,” and Doge, which is not an official government agency, to access these records violated federal law.
Reacting to the ruling, Musk took to X to express his frustration, calling it “absolutely insane.”
“How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent?” he wrote.
The Democratic state attorneys general filed the lawsuit on Friday against Trump, the Treasury Department, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
In his order, issued early Saturday, Engelmayer stated that without immediate relief, the states would “face irreparable” harm.
Donald Trump Heading DOGE (Photo: AP)“That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking,” the order read.
The injunction prevents the defendants from granting access to Treasury Department records containing personally identifiable or confidential information to special government employees, political appointees, or any personnel from outside the department.
Under the ruling, only civil servants who require access for their duties at the Bureau of Fiscal Services—and who have passed background checks—are permitted to view the records.
Additionally, the judge mandated that any individuals who had already received restricted records must immediately destroy all copies in their possession.
These conditions will remain in effect until the next court hearing, scheduled for February 14.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the attorneys general leading the lawsuit, accused the Trump administration of granting Musk and Doge “unprecedented access” to personal data.
“Over the past week, my office has heard from more than a thousand New Yorkers who were afraid they would lose their privacy and the critical funding their communities count on because of Musk and DOGE’s interference,” she said.
Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, has played a key role in major disruptions during Trump’s second term. Through Doge, he has spearheaded deep budget cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which oversees billions of dollars in global aid distribution.