The Trump administration asked a federal court in New York last night to lift an order that restricts political appointees’ access to Treasury Department payment databases.
“Limiting access by Treasury’s senior leadership, as just described, is overbroad and unnecessary to maintain the status quo,” lawyers at the Justice Department wrote in a memo filed in court.
They continued, “Nonetheless, it is important that high-level political appointees, such as the Secretary, his Chief of Staff, the Deputy Secretary, and the Undersecretaries, can receive data from such systems to the extent necessary for the performance of their job duties.”
The lawyers wrote that banning political appointees from staying informed about issues within their jurisdiction would “significantly interfere with these officials’ ability to conduct their duties as they pertain to emergent issues related to Treasury’s payment systems.”
The court on Saturday issued a temporary restraining order to limit access to a number of Treasury systems to civil servants and not political appointees, which would include Elon Musk and members of his Department of Government Efficiency team, which is targeting numerous government departments and agencies for cuts.
