Judge Limits Treasury Secretary From Widely Distributing Data to DOGE

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.

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.