A legal dispute has erupted between the Trump administration and a federal court after Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a restraining order preventing political appointees from accessing Treasury Department payment systems. The ruling, issued Saturday, restricts access to only career civil servants, effectively blocking oversight from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In response, the administration has filed an emergency motion arguing that the order is an unconstitutional restriction on executive authority. The filing states that “basic democratic accountability requires that every executive agency’s work be supervised by politically accountable leadership.”
The judge’s order was granted at the request of 19 Democratic-led states, which filed a lawsuit claiming that DOGE’s involvement in Treasury operations is unauthorized. The ruling also orders that any financial records accessed by DOGE since Trump’s inauguration must be deleted immediately.
The administration is calling for the restraining order to be dissolved before the February 14 hearing. Officials warn that limiting access to Treasury data could interfere with government operations, as the affected systems process Social Security benefits, tax refunds, and federal payroll.
Vice President JD Vance strongly condemned the judge’s ruling, comparing it to a judge interfering with military operations. “The executive branch has the right to oversee its own agencies,” Vance said.
If the request to vacate the order is denied, the Trump administration is expected to escalate the legal fight, possibly seeking an appeal in a higher federal court.
