Washington, D.C. (Agencies): In a significant legal development, US District Judges Paul A. Engelmayer and Carl Nichols have issued orders blocking efforts by President Donald Trump’s team to access Treasury Department records and lay off staff at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Early on Saturday, Judge Engelmayer blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing Treasury Department records. This decision came after 19 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit to halt DOGE’s access to records containing sensitive personal data such as social security and bank account numbers.
A day earlier, Judge Nichols blocked an order that sought to put thousands of overseas USAID workers on abrupt administrative leave. The orders are part of a growing series of legal actions aimed at obstructing Trump and Musk’s efforts to disrupt government institutions.
DOGE, which is pushing for access to records across various institutions, has raised widespread concerns among critics about Musk’s increasing power. USAID has been a major target of the chaotic shake-up, with all US aid frozen and the agency threatened with closure or a drastic reduction in staff from 10,000 to just 300.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed the lawsuit, stated, “This unelected group, led by the world’s richest man, is not authorized to have this information, and they explicitly sought this unauthorized access to illegally block payments that millions of Americans rely on, payments for healthcare, child care, and other essential programs.”
The legal actions have triggered chaos in USAID’s global network and allegations of weakening US influence on the world stage. The drive has also led to concerns about the impact on humanitarian aid programs globally.