Judge Limits Treasury Secretary From Widely Distributing Data to DOGE

The order limits access to Department of the Treasury data to two individuals working with Elon Musk’s DOGE and excludes access to confidential data and payment systems.

U.S. Senior District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Thursday approved a limited order preventing Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent from providing access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, except to a select few government officials.

The order came in response to a suit filed earlier in the week by the Alliance for Retired Americans and several federal employee unions, seeking to prevent access to those records by the administration of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency Service Temporary Organization.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

The order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia names two special government employees—Tom Krause and Marko Elez—as having “read only” access to the information and also permits access to the information by Treasury employees who are not special government employees who need access to do their jobs or are otherwise entitled to access.

The Treasury data in question likely include Social Security and Medicare customer payment systems, according to the lawsuit.

Treasury released a statement on Tuesday that Krause is working for the Treasury as a “special government employee,” a category that allows outsiders to serve in executive branch positions for a limited time. Elon Musk, heading the Department of Government Efficiency Service Temporary Organization, is also reportedly working under that designation.

Treasury stated that the “read only” access is “similar to the kind of access that Treasury provides to individuals reviewing Treasury systems, such as auditors, and that follows practices associated with protecting the integrity of the systems and business processes.”

According to the Treasury statement, Krause is a “longtime technology executive” with decades of experience in building companies and managing balance sheets as a chief financial officer.

Kollar-Kotelly’s order will remain in effect until she rules on the Alliance for Retired Americans’ motion for a preliminary injunction to prohibit Treasury from continuing to allow the DOGE to access the payment systems and to protect the data the DOGE has already obtained. According to court documents, both parties will appear for a hearing on that motion on February 24.

Separately, other government employee unions and labor groups filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Department of Labor for allegedly directing staff to give the DOGE access to any information it requests, regardless of security protocols. The lawsuit aims to block the DOGE from obtaining the sensitive information.

Confirmation Hearing Date Announced for Secretary of Labor Nominee Chavez-DeRemer

Meanwhile, government employee unions and labor groups filed a lawsuit seeking to block Elon Musk’s efficiency organization from accessing DOL systems containing sensitive information.

Lori M. Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Labor, has received a hearing date for her confirmation.

The former Oregon representative will appear before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Wednesday, February 12, at 10 a.m.

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Last month, Trump named Vince Micone as acting secretary of labor until Chavez-DeRemer is confirmed. Micone was previously the deputy assistant secretary for operations in the DOL’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management.

Chavez-DeRemer is considered an unusual selection for a Republican secretary of labor, as she—a former House member from a state that leans Democratic—has previously both taken on health care benefits and taken a pro-union stance. Chavez-DeRemer was, notably, one of three Republicans to sponsor the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023, which sought to make it easier for workers to unionize.

Her opposition to state “right-to-work” laws may come as a concern to some Senate Republicans, and Senator Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, has already spoken out against Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination.

While she has not been publicly outspoken about retirement policy, Chavez-DeRemer has been more active on the employer health plan side of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, including co-sponsoring legislation addressing group health care cost transparency.

Chavez-DeRemer must be cleared by the Senate panel before the full Senate can consider her nomination.

The live hearing can be viewed on the Senate HELP Committee’s website.

The hearing was announced on the same day that government employee unions and labor groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in anticipation of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency temporary organization attempting to gain access to DOL systems containing sensitive information. The complaint, which names Micone, claims DOL officials have directed staff to give the DOGE access to anything it requests, regardless of security protocols.

The lawsuit comes after retiree advocacy groups and public employee unions sued the Department of the Treasury for sharing confidential data with the DOGE on Monday.

«