DOGE access to Treasury records restricted by Justice Department

Lawyers for the Department of Justice have agreed to restrict Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency from having access to sensitive Treasury Department payment system information.

Newsweek has contacted the Treasury Department and the DOJ for comment via email outside regular working hours.

Why It Matters

Concerns were raised, including among Democratic lawmakers, over DOGE’s potentially unrestricted access to the federal government’s payment and collections system. The issue was seen as another example of unelected Musk’s rising influence and power within the Trump administration.

What to Know

Lawyers for the DOJ submitted court filings on Wednesday evening largely agreeing to prevent DOGE workers from having access to sensitive Treasury payment system information.

The agreement allows only two Treasury Department employees affiliated with DOGE—Tom Krause and Marko Elez—to have “read-only” access to the system that controls trillions of dollars in federal payments, as well as the personal details of federal employees.

The move was in response to a lawsuit filed by two unions and an advocacy group on Monday against the Treasury Department. The suit accused Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of allowing Musk’s team “unlawful access” to federal employees’ private information.

The Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said the scale of the intrusion was “massive and unprecedented.”

Democratic lawmakers have also sent letters to the Trump administration demanding answers regarding the potential privacy violation by Musk’s team.

Virginia Senator Mark Warner and other members of the Senate Intelligence Committee wrote to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Wednesday demanding more information regarding how DOGE staff are operating and under whose authority.

Ranking members of several House committees, including Virginia Representative Gerald Connolly of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote to President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressing concerns about the DOGE task force potentially having access to classified and sensitive information without proper clearance.

Trump announced the formation of DOGE on January 20 as part of plans to “dismantle” government bureaucracy and reduce federal spending.

What People Are Saying

Attorneys for the Justice Department in Wednesday’s order: “The defendants will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.”

The unions and advocacy group wrote in their lawsuit against the Treasury: “The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented. Millions of people cannot avoid engaging in financial transactions with the federal government and, therefore, cannot avoid having their sensitive personal and financial information maintained in government records.”

Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee members in their letter to Susie Wiles: “No information has been provided to Congress or the public as to who has been formally hired under DOGE, under what authority or regulations DOGE is operating, or how DOGE is vetting and monitoring its staff and representatives before providing them seemingly unfettered access to classified materials and Americans’ personal information.”

Elon Musk, posting on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday: “We just renamed US Digital Services, created by Obama, to US DOGE Services, with a mandate to modernize all computer systems in the U.S. government. This is something that is sorely needed!”

What Happens Next

The DOJ’s order still needs to be approved by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who is overseeing the case.

The agreement will stay in place until February 24, when both parties will argue in court about a longer-term injunction, ABC News reported.