Trump DOJ Files to 'Dissolve' or 'Modify' Judge's Treasury Ruling

President Donald Trump's Justice Department filed a court order to "dissolve" or "modify/clarify" a federal judge's ruling that prevents the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the Treasury Department's payment system.

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued an emergency order early Saturday blocking Elon Musk's DOGE team from accessing personal and financial data for millions of Americans stored at Treasury.

Trump appointed Musk to head advisory DOGE, which has been tasked with finding ways to streamline government and reduce spending.

Engelmayer's order restricts giving access to department payment systems and other data to "all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department."

Late Sunday night, the DOJ filed a court order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York saying that Engelmayer's order "is a remarkable intrusion on the Executive Branch that is in direct conflict with Article II of the Constitution, and the unitary structure it provides."

"WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (again): The Justice Department asked a court to urgently 'dissolve' or 'modify/clarify' the sweeping order that blocks Musk allies — and political leadership in Treasury from accessing the government's massive payment system," Politico's Kyle Cheney posted on X early Monday morning with a copy of the court filing.

The order said the Trump administration was "already negotiating with the [19] states who filed the lawsuit to narrow the order."

"There is not and cannot be a basis for distinguishing between 'civil servants' and 'political appointees.' Basic democratic accountability requires that every executive agency's work be supervised by politically accountable leadership, who ultimately answer to the President," DOJ attorneys wrote in the filing.

Cheney also pointed out that "Thomas Krause, the lone Musk ally with access to the system, appended a seven-page declaration describing his work with it and emphasizing he has been properly trained on it. He says his access was limited to 'over the shoulder' review and copies of code."

AFP contributed to this story.

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