NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in Manhattan on Friday extended a ban on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency accessing sensitive Treasury Department information while rejecting broader restrictions sought by 19 Democratic state attorneys general who sued over the issue.
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas issued a preliminary injunction, but said she may lift the ban, which she imposed earlier this month, if the Treasury Department certifies by March 24 that DOGE members have received the required cybersecurity training.
Vargas said the delay did not undermine DOGE’s efforts to modernize Treasury payment systems, which were intended to protect sensitive personal data for millions of Americans.
“Without addressing these issues, the potential consequences of a cybersecurity breach could be catastrophic,” Vargas wrote in a 64-page decision.
The attorneys general sought to prohibit Musk’s DOGE team from developing automated or manual processes to halt payments through the Treasury Department’s payment systems.
Vargas stated that instead of “broad and sweeping relief,” she chose a “narrowly tailored” solution to address concerns that private banking data could be compromised in a data breach.
