The Trump administration has filed a motion to vacate or modify a court order that temporarily bars the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and political appointees from accessing sensitive Treasury Department payment records.
In the filing, Cloud Software Group CEO Tom Krause argued that top political appointees, including the Treasury Secretary and Deputy Secretary, must retain access to Treasury data for briefings essential to their duties. However, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s order mandates that political appointees, special government employees, and non-Treasury personnel be denied access to the department’s payment systems and personally identifiable data. The judge also directed those who previously accessed the records to destroy any copies.
The order follows a lawsuit from 19 state attorneys general accusing the Trump administration of improperly granting DOGE access to Treasury’s systems. Government employee unions also challenged the administration’s authority over who can review the material as part of a broader evaluation of federal programs.
A prior order had allowed only Krause and Marko Elez, a former Musk company engineer, to access Treasury’s Fiscal Service, but Saturday’s ruling rescinded that access. Both Krause and Elez are designated as special government employees in the Treasury Department.
