U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly declined to block Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) workers from accessing Treasury systems.
The Clinton-appointed judge wrote that while plaintiffs’ concerns are “understandable and no doubt widely shared,” they have not demonstrated an “irreparable injury that is ‘beyond remediation.'”
“Merely asserting that the Treasury DOGE Team’s operations increase the risk of a catastrophic data breach or public disclosure of sensitive information … is not sufficient to support a preliminary injunction,” the judge wrote. “Instead, Plaintiffs have the heavy burden of demonstrating that such a breach or improper disclosure is ‘likely in the absence of an injunction.’”
“If Plaintiffs could show that Defendants imminently planned to make their private information public or to share that information with individuals outside the federal government with no obligation to maintain its confidentiality, the Court would not hesitate to find a likelihood of irreparable harm,” the opinion added. “But on the present record, Plaintiffs have not shown that Defendants have such a plan. If circumstances change, Plaintiffs are free to return to federal court to seek any proper emergency remedy.”
The decision will likely only have a minimal impact as a federal judge in New York blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury systems.
“The Court’s firm assessment is that, for the reasons stated by the States, they will face irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief,” Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled last month. “The States have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, with the States’ statutory claims presenting as particularly strong.”
