US Justice Department limits Musk’s DOGE access to Treasury records
Lawyers representing the US Department of Justice have consented to a restriction preventing Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive payment system information within the Treasury Department.
Lawyers for the DOJ submitted court filings on Wednesday evening largely agreeing to prevent DOGE workers from having access to sensitive Treasury payment system information, News.Az reports, citing US media.
The agreement allows only two Treasury Department employees affiliated with DOGE—Tom Krause and Marko Elez—to have "read-only" access to the system that controls trillions of dollars in federal payments, as well as the personal details of federal employees.
The move was in response to a lawsuit filed by two unions and an advocacy group on Monday against the Treasury Department. The suit accused Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of allowing Musk's team "unlawful access" to federal employees' private information.
The Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said the scale of the intrusion was "massive and unprecedented."
Democratic lawmakers have also sent letters to the Trump administration demanding answers regarding the potential privacy violation by Musk's team.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner and other members of the Senate Intelligence Committee wrote to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Wednesday demanding more information regarding how DOGE staff are operating and under whose authority.
Ranking members of several House committees, including Virginia Representative Gerald Connolly of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote to President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressing concerns about the DOGE task force potentially having access to classified and sensitive information without proper clearance.
Trump announced the formation of DOGE on January 20 as part of plans to "dismantle" government bureaucracy and reduce federal spending.
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