Billionaire Musk blocked from accessing US Treasury payment system

Billionaire Musk, the world's richest man, is leading President Donald Trump's efforts to cut federal spending under the so-called Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has recently courted controversy over reports that he and his team at DOGE were accessing sensitive data stored at the US Treasury Department.

The injunction by US federal judge A. Engelmayer restricts access to the Treasury Department's payment system and other data to "all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees designated by an agency outside the Treasury Department," according to AFP.

The temporary restraining order, which is in effect until a hearing on February 14, also states that anyone who has accessed data from US Treasury Department records since President Trump's inauguration on January 20 must "immediately destroy any copies of the downloaded documents."

The order came after a coalition of Democratic attorneys general from 19 US states filed a lawsuit late on February 7, arguing that DOGE did not have legal authority to access US Treasury Department systems, according to Reuters.

In the lawsuit, the attorneys general argue that billionaire Musk and his team could disrupt federal funding for health clinics, preschools, climate initiatives and other programs.

Hours after the ban was issued, billionaire Musk denounced Judge Engelmayer as an "activist" and accused Democrats of "trying to cover up the biggest fraud in human history!"

Musk also wrote on social media X that the list of entities that are not eligible for government payments should be updated at least weekly, if not daily. He stressed that the changes were “obvious and necessary” and were made by government employees, not anyone from DOGE.