Federal Judge Clears DOGE Team for Full Access to Treasury Systems
A federal judge has approved access for the Treasury Department’s entire DOGE team to access the federal government’s sensitive data systems.
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled on Tuesday that the last legal restriction preventing four Treasury-assigned Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees from accessing the agency’s payments infrastructure could be lifted.
Vargas also relaxed an earlier order after the Trump administration demonstrated it had implemented a process to properly vet and train the employees.
The ruling stems from a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other Democratic attorneys general, who had sought to block DOGE’s access to the Treasury systems, Just The News reported.
Last month, Vargas permitted a DOGE worker to access the sensitive payment and data systems after completing the same training required for Treasury employees and submitting a financial disclosure report.
Earlier in February, Vargas had sided with the states and prohibited DOGE employees from accessing the system, finding that the Treasury’s process for granting access to the sensitive data was too rushed and disorganized—potentially violating the law.
In the most recent ruling, Vargas required the Treasury Department to adhere to its protocols for vetting and training DOGE staffers.
However, she clarified that she would not require the agency to request permission each time it adds new members to the DOGE team.
“[T]here is little utility in having this Court function as Treasury’s de facto human resources officer each time a new team member is onboarded,” Vargas wrote in her order.
Earlier this year, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) asked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell whether he would allow DOGE into the Fed’s systems.
Waters suggested a growing fear among Democrats that Musk and Trump could wield undue influence over the U.S. financial infrastructure.
“When Musk comes knocking at the Fed’s door, are you going to let him in?” Waters asked.
Waters pressed further, asking, “Would you like to tell us today that you won’t let DOGE into the Federal Reserve or have access to the systems and the data?”
However, Powell refused to speculate, saying, “So we don’t, I don’t have any, we’ve had no contact, and I don’t really have, I have nothing for you to report today on that.”
“Well, you know what happened at Treasury and you know what happened over at the CFPB, and the people of this country are being violated because all of our privacy is being taken up by Elon Musk and Trump, and we don’t know what all they have on us—our bank accounts, everything in our lives,” Waters admitted.
READ: Top Democrat Calls for ‘Actual Weapons’ to Be Used Against Elon Musk to ‘Protect Democracy’