A federal judge issued a decision on Saturday to block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the Treasury Department's payment system. The White House criticized the ruling, likening it to 'children throwing pasta at the wall' and labeling it as 'judicial overreach.'
New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other state attorneys general filed a lawsuit alleging that Musk's associates, classified as 'special government employees,' were improperly granted access to the sensitive Treasury system.
The judge's order temporarily suspends access to a critical payment system responsible for distributing tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments, and federal employees' salaries.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields condemned the legal action as frivolous and accused the judge of locking the Senate-confirmed Secretary of Treasury out of his role, deeming it absurd and an instance of judicial overreach.
Elon Musk defended the access in a social media post, stating that DOGE and the Treasury Department had mutually agreed to specific requirements related to government payments. Musk highlighted the necessity of implementing payment categorization codes for outgoing government payments to ensure financial audit compliance.
Musk emphasized that the implementation of these changes is being carried out by longstanding career government employees and not individuals from DOGE. He expressed disbelief that such essential changes were not already in place.
