DOGE Wins Court Battle But Remains Blocked From Payment System
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly won a court battle Friday but is still blocked from accessing the Treasury payment system by an earlier ruling in another court.
On Friday (March 7), a federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected a request to block DOGE from accessing the system, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday.
The challengers — a retirees’ group and two labor unions — had asked for an injunction, alleging that it was necessary to protect Americans’ private data, according to the report.
When rejecting that request Friday, the judge said she had not been shown evidence that the system’s data was likely to be compromised, per the report.
The practical effect of this ruling is limited, though, because another federal judge in New York blocked DOGE from accessing the system, saying that the Treasury Department’s decision to give DOGE access was rushed and created a “realistic danger” that private data could be disclosed, according to the report.
The New York judge could lift that injunction if the Treasury Department can show that DOGE employees have been adequately vetted and trained and that steps have been taken to minimize any threats, per the report. Treasury must submit a report by March 24.
DOGE was established by a Jan. 20 executive order from President Donald Trump, issued on his first day back in office. The order said DOGE’s purpose is to boost governmental efficiency and productivity by modernizing federal technology and software.
It was reported Jan. 31 that Department of the Treasury Fiscal Assistant Secretary David A. Lebryk left the department after clashing with DOGE employees who had requested access to the payment system.
On Feb. 2, it was reported that new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave DOGE access to the system after members of the DOGE team were made Treasury employees, passed government background checks and obtained security clearances.
The access to the federal payment system provides DOGE with a tool that can be used to monitor and limit government spending, including the ability to restrict the disbursement of money approved by Congress, the New York Times reported at the time.
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