Judge Partially Lifts Ban on DOGE Access to Sensitive Treasury Data

The court granted Doge conditional access to the financial payment system and eased the previous ban amid ongoing lawsuits from 19 Democratic-led states.

A federal judge in New York partially lifted the ban preventing government efficiency (DOGE) members from accessing the U.S. Treasury confidential system, allowing DOGE staff to conditional access to federal payment data.

In an opinion published on April 11, US District Judge Janet Vargas determined that Ryan Wunderly, a member of the Doge team, has access to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Finance Services (BFS) system.

The BFS payment system processes the personal and financial information of millions of Americans, including Social Security and bank account numbers. Created on President Donald Trump’s first day in office, Doge was tasked with identifying the efficiency of federal operations as part of Trump’s efforts to cut government spending.

The ruling comes from a lawsuit filed February 7 by a Democratic-led state in 19, claiming that Doge’s political appointee poses privacy and cybersecurity risks and that access to such sensitive systems should not be permitted. The state alleged that the Treasury acted arbitrarily by granting access without proper review, training or supervision.

In late February, Vargas granted a provisional injunction and blocked Doge members from providing access to the BFS system unless certain procedural safeguards were in place. They include validating training, reviewing, and implementing risk mitigation procedures. At the time, the court found that Doge’s development at the Ministry of Finance was a “confusing coincidence.”

In a new ruling on April 11, Vargas said the government’s response (12 54-page declarations of oaths) was sufficient to adequately address, at least in the case of Wunderly.

“The broader government submissions… alleviate these concerns in large part,” she wrote, referring to previous lack of clarity regarding security clearance, reporting, reporting, employment authorities and training protocols.

Vargas also rejects the state’s argument that Wunderly’s incomplete training should ban his access, hinting that it was the equivalent of Catch-22.

“The only reason Wunderly does not receive such practical training is because existing preliminary injunctions prohibit access to the BFS payment system,” she writes.

As a solution, the court ordered to complete an astonishing practical training and submit an OGE 278 financial disclosure report before receiving full access.

The judge also surprised him to submit an OGE 278 financial disclosure report before access was granted. Finance officials confirmed that Wunderly has completed all other standard training and background checks required for Treasury officials with similar data access levels, the judge noted.

A Treasury spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.

In another case, a federal judge in Washington, DC also places emphasis on access to Doge’s financial system. In that case, Judge Colleen Coller Cotery initially imposed restrictions and later lifted them, finding that the plaintiffs had not shown any potential for irreparable harm.

She added that there are no indications that Doge employees are planning to misuse or inappropriately disclose sensitive information.

Doge critics raised alarms about the role of the unit, causing a rapid expansion into the federal government’s core business. Doge officials say they saved the government $150 billion through audits of government agencies that encourage grant cancellations, asset sales, labor cuts and contract termination.

Legal challenges to Doge’s authority and operation remain ongoing across multiple jurisdictions.