A New York federal judge modified a temporary restraining order Tuesday that prevented President Donald Trump and the Treasury Department from granting political appointees and special government employees access to the department’s payment systems.
The amended order was issued by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, previously issued a temporary restraining order Saturday that sided with 19 Democratic state attorneys general who claimed that giving DOGE “full access” to the treasury’s payment systems violates the law.
The lawsuit was spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
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“This morning, we won a court order blocking Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, from accessing Americans’ private data,” James wrote on X at the time. “Musk and his DOGE employees must destroy all records they’ve obtained. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: no one is above the law.”
The Trump administration filed an emergency motion Sunday, saying the order “unnecessarily restricts Federal Reserve employees and outside contractors” from accessing the payment systems “to perform necessary routine processes and maintenance and provide operational support.”
Both parties were ordered to meet that evening in an attempt to come to an agreement. Both sides ultimately agreed to modify the order, with the plaintiffs opposing any modification to the provision that barred political appointees’ access to the systems.
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The amended order now gives Senate-confirmed political appointees access to the information. Special government employees, including Elon Musk, are still barred from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment system.
“These unlawful injunctions are a continuation of the weaponization of justice against President Trump,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The White House will continue to fight these battles in court, and we expect to be vindicated. The President has every right to exercise his executive authority on behalf of the American people, who gave him a historic mandate to govern on November 5th.”
Shortly after the initial order was handed down, Trump called the order “crazy” in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.
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“Nineteen states attorneys general filed a lawsuit, and early Saturday a judge agreed with them to restrict Elon Musk and his government efficiency team, DOGE, from accessing Treasury Department payment and data systems. They said there was a risk of ‘irreparable harm.’ What do you make of that? And does that slow you down and what you want to do?” Baier asked Trump in the interview clip.
“No, I disagree with it 100%. I think it’s crazy. And we have to solve the efficiency problem. We have to solve the fraud, waste, abuse, all the things that have gone into the government. You take a look at the USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development), the kind of fraud in there,” Trump responded.
The parties are expected to reconvene Friday to revisit the matter.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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