- Judge caps payments system access as she weighs longer pause
- Temporary curbs are first ones imposed since Musk went to work
A US judge temporarily limited access to the US
US District Judge
WATCH: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Elon Musk and his government efficiency team are not “tinkering” with any systems. Source: Bloomberg
The specific constraints of the order, although they’re in place only temporarily, marked the first time a judge has placed limits on the access since DOGE went to work.
The order allows “read only” access to two “special government employees” Treasury recently brought in who are tied to Musk’s group, known as DOGE. The two are Tom Krause, the chief executive of Cloud Software Group Inc., and Marko Elez, an engineer who has worked for Musk’s SpaceX and social-media platform X. They have offices at Treasury, agency email addresses and clearance to access some secure but unclassified Treasury information, Bloomberg previously reported.
The White House has said that Musk, too, is a special government employee — an officer or employee in the executive branch of the federal government who typically serves for a limited period of time.
President
The White House has said there is nothing improper about DOGE’s activities.
“DOGE is fulfilling President Trump’s commitment to making government more accountable, efficient, and, most importantly, restoring proper stewardship of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars,” it has said. “Those leading this mission with Elon Musk are doing so in full compliance with federal law, appropriate security clearances, and as employees of the relevant agencies, not as outside advisors or entities.”
At a hearing Wednesday, the judge questioned Bradley Humphreys, an attorney for the Treasury Department, on whether the records at issue have been shared outside Treasury or with Musk. The claim that the information was being shared with parties beyond Treasury “is incorrect as far as we know,” said Humphreys.
Monday’s suit against Treasury and
The case is Alliance for Retired Americans v. Bessent,
(Updates with details and context throughout, starting in second paragraph.)
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Peter Jeffrey, Elizabeth Wasserman
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