Judge Limits Treasury Data Sharing Amid Lawsuit Over Musk Allies’ Access
Court Order Restricts Data Access for Musk-Aligned Treasury Employees
A U.S. District Judge signed off on a temporary agreement Thursday, restricting the sharing of sensitive Treasury data as legal battles mount over access granted to allies of Elon Musk. The dispute stems from Musk’s efforts to spearhead a sweeping review of federal government spending.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, presiding in Washington, D.C., approved the deal, allowing two Musk allies who were appointed as Treasury employees to continue accessing a payments system containing personal and financial data of millions of Americans. However, the court order bars them from sharing this sensitive information outside the agency.
Read-Only Restrictions Imposed on Treasury Employees
The two officials, Tom Krause and Marko Elez, were further restricted to “read-only” access, meaning they can review records but cannot modify them. This limitation comes as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed Monday by a coalition of labor unions whose members rely on federal payments.
The agreement does not resolve the lawsuit but serves to “preserve the status quo” until Kollar-Kotelly hears legal arguments, she stated during a court session Wednesday. The judge directed attorneys from both sides to negotiate the interim agreement, warning she would consider issuing a temporary restraining order if they failed to agree on the wording.
The restrictions will remain in place while the court deliberates on whether to grant an injunction, which the labor unions are seeking to block further access.
Legal Battle Over Treasury Data Access Intensifies
The lawsuit was filed by Public Citizen, a left-leaning nonprofit, on behalf of the AFL-CIO and other labor groups. It argues that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should be prevented from accessing Treasury’s payments portal, citing concerns about the potential exposure of sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, home addresses, and banking details.
President Trump appointed Musk to lead the charge in reducing federal bureaucracy, granting his DOGE task force an unexpectedly broad role within the Executive Office of the President. Initially envisioned as an advisory committee, DOGE was established as a temporary government entity by a day-one executive order.
Musk’s allies have aggressively sought access to government systems, extending their influence at agencies such as the Treasury Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Their demands for data and plans to curb what they view as excessive spending have sparked immediate legal challenges.
Justice Department Denies Unauthorized Data Sharing
During Wednesday’s hearing, Justice Department attorney Bradley Humphreys defended the appointments of Krause, a Silicon Valley executive, and Elez, a recent college graduate who has worked for Musk’s companies. Humphreys asserted that the two had been designated as special Treasury employees and were granted read-only access to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s payment system.
He further assured the court that neither Krause nor Elez had shared any reviewed data with external parties, including Musk himself.
Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO and other labor unions escalated their legal efforts by filing a separate lawsuit Wednesday, alleging that DOGE is on the verge of unlawfully obtaining Labor Department data, including “medical and benefits information about all federal workers with worker compensation.”
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