Judge Partially Lifts Ban on DOGE Access to Sensitive Treasury Data

A court has granted DOGE conditional access to Treasury payment systems, easing an earlier ban amid an ongoing lawsuit from 19 Democrat-led states.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) website is displayed on a phone on Feb. 15, 2025. Oleksii Pydsosonnii/The Epoch Times

A federal judge in New York has partially lifted a ban preventing members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive systems at the U.S. Treasury, allowing one DOGE staffer conditional access to federal payment data.

In an opinion issued April 11, District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that Ryan Wunderly, a member of the DOGE team, may access Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS) systems—provided he first completes the standard hands-on training required of Treasury employees and submits a financial disclosure report.

The BFS payment systems handle the personal and financial information of millions of Americans, including Social Security and bank account numbers. DOGE, established by President Donald Trump on his first day in office, was tasked with identifying inefficiencies in federal operations as part of Trump’s effort to cut government spending.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed Feb. 7 by 19 Democrat-led states, which alleged that political appointees in DOGE pose privacy and cybersecurity risks and should not be granted access to such sensitive systems. The states argued that the Treasury acted arbitrarily by allowing access without adequate vetting, training, or oversight.

In late February, Vargas granted a preliminary injunction, blocking Treasury from giving DOGE members access to BFS systems unless specific procedural safeguards were in place. Those included verifying training, vetting, and the implementation of risk mitigation procedures. At the time, the court found that the rollout of DOGE at Treasury was “chaotic and haphazard.”

In her new April 11 ruling, Vargas said the government’s response—comprising 12 sworn declarations spanning 54 pages—was sufficient to address many of the court’s original concerns, at least in Wunderly’s case.

“The Government’s extensive submissions ... largely alleviate those concerns,” she wrote, referencing the previous lack of clarity around security clearances, reporting lines, hiring authorities, and training protocols.

Vargas also rejected the argument by the plaintiff states that Wunderly’s incomplete training should bar his access, suggesting that it amounted to a catch-22.

“The only reason Wunderly has not undergone such hands-on training is because the existing preliminary injunction prohibits him from accessing the BFS payment systems,” she wrote.

As a solution, the court ordered that Wunderly complete the hands-on training—and file his OGE 278 financial disclosure report—before receiving full access.

The judge also required Wunderly to file his OGE 278 financial disclosure report before access is granted, addressing concerns raised by the states that Wunderly should first clear an ethics conflict check before being allowed to access the payment systems. Treasury officials have confirmed that Wunderly has completed all other standard training and background checks required of Treasury personnel with similar data access levels, the judge stated.

A Treasury spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

In a separate case, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., has also weighed in on DOGE’s access to Treasury systems. In that case, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly initially imposed limits and later lifted them, ruling that plaintiffs had failed to show any likely irreparable harm.

She added that there was no indication DOGE employees planned to misuse or improperly disclose sensitive information.

Critics of DOGE have raised alarms over its role and rapid expansion into core federal operations. DOGE officials say they have saved the government $150 billion through their audits of government agencies that facilitated grant cancellations, asset sales, workforce reductions, and contract terminations.

Legal challenges to DOGE’s authority and operations remain ongoing in multiple jurisdictions.