In a recent ruling by a federal judge in New York, it has been decided to allow limited access to sensitive payment information from the U.S. Department of the Treasury for an employee of the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) under specific conditions. This move is seen as a partial relaxation of the previous blanket ban.
Federal Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in New York issued a written ruling on Friday, April 11th, permitting a partial relaxation of the previous ban on DOGE, allowing DOGE member Ryan Wunderly to access the Treasury Department’s payment system database containing personal information after completing federal standard training and submitting financial disclosure reports.
Vargas emphasized that this relaxation applies only to Wunderly and that the ban on other DOGE members remains unchanged. She also reiterated that the preliminary injunction issued by Federal Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York is still legally binding.
The case originated in February of this year when New York Attorney General Letitia James, on behalf of 19 Democratic state attorneys general, filed a collective lawsuit against DOGE, alleging unauthorized access to sensitive information such as social security numbers and bank account details, constituting a breach of citizen privacy.
As a result, Federal District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York issued a temporary injunction prohibiting DOGE personnel from accessing any of the aforementioned sensitive information. Vargas extended this injunction in subsequent rulings.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), representing about 800,000 federal employees, filed a lawsuit against DOGE in January, alleging non-compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), lack of necessary transparency, and impartiality.
In February, according to a court-approved agreement, two designated DOGE members were allowed interim access to sensitive Treasury data with read-only permissions to assist in advancing payment system reform and fraud detection efforts during the litigation process.
The agreement was reached between the government and union groups to limit DOGE’s access to sensitive data during the lawsuit proceedings.
The two individuals granted access were Tom Krause, CEO of Cloud Software Group, and Marko Elez, an engineer who previously worked at SpaceX and social platform X.
Elez resigned due to past reports of racial discrimination remarks in the media, and Wunderly was promptly nominated by the Trump administration to replace him, citing his technical expertise and qualified training records. Elez has reportedly rejoined DOGE recently.
DOGE is a new department established by U.S. President Trump in 2025 to drive administrative reform, improve efficiency, and reduce spending, with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, serving as an advisor.
Musk has publicly stated that the federal government loses over $100 billion annually due to fraud and system vulnerabilities, with some funds flowing to individuals without valid social security numbers. He advocates for DOGE to access relevant payment data to conduct systemic reform and enhance transparency and credibility.
(This article references reports from “Congress Hill News” and the Associated Press)