Friday evening, February 21, US District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas granted a preliminary injunction against DOGE, resulting from a lawsuit filed by 19 Democrat state attorneys general. Her 64-page order prevents the newly named and designed Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records, specifically those "containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees."
The case was captioned State of New York, et al v. Donald J. Trump. The "et al" represents the eighteen other states. These Democratic AGs are sufficiently devoid of general election competition and likely expect only to benefit politically from this suit. That, or they’re genuinely concerned Elon Musk's DOGE team is there to actively "block federal funds from reaching beneficiaries who do not align with the President's political agenda." That's from their emergency petition, which Vargas granted, including a temporary restraining order, on Valentine's Day. This new injunction refines and extends her earlier ruling.
DOGE: Delayed but Not Denied
While Trump's DOGE lost in court, it appears they will be able to recover from the decision fairly quickly. Vargas didn't limit data access only to legacy employees who historically had access to it. Instead, her ruling dismissed the most serious claims, which threatened to significantly delay the administration's moves as appeals were heard. She merely found that the executive branch did not comply with security measures to ensure all those who could access the sensitive data were cleared to do so.
Judge Vargas wrote, "There is a 'substantial risk of future harm' where the data access protocols in place do not satisfactorily vet the employees with access and rigorously train them in data security measures." Then, she ordered DOGE to come back and report that the team received "training regarding the federal laws, regulations, and policies governing the handling of personally identifiable information, tax return information, and sensitive financial data, and maintaining the integrity and security of Treasury data and technology, and attesting that any future Treasury DOGE Team member will be provided with this same training."
The judge promised a "prompt briefing" after the Treasury filed the required disclosures and assertions regarding the DOGE team's clearances and certifications.
Vargas is new to the bench, nominated by President Joe Biden, and confirmed in 2024. After Harvard undergrad and Yale law, Vargas clerked for Justice Sonia Sotomayor when the justice sat on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. Then, she spent 22 years working in the office of US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) suggested Vargas to the Biden administration and introduced her at a confirmation hearing where the nominee called Sotomayor her mentor. And yet, even Judge Vargas could not sanction the fever dreams of the Democratic AGs.
