A federal judge dropped a bombshell on Saturday, issuing an order that no only temporarily blocks the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing essential data on federal payments but also bars Treasury officials from accessing data managed by the agency.
According to the order, only “civil servants with a need for access to perform their job duties within the Bureau of Fiscal Services who have passed all background checks and security clearances and taken all information security training called for in federal statutes and Treasury Department regulations” can access the data, while “all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department” cannot, pending a hearing scheduled for February 13.
The judge also ordered that any Treasury data that has already been collected must be destroyed.
Since the Treasury secretary is a political appointee, this outrageous ruling essentially bars him from viewing or managing the sensitive financial data of his own department. This unprecedented act not only strips the Treasury secretary of a fundamental responsibility but also undermines the executive branch’s authority to effectively oversee its financial operations.
Judge Paul Engelmayer, who made the ruling, is an Obama appointee. […]
— Read More: pjmedia.com
