In Washington, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly previously restricted DOGE's work at Treasury to two employees with read-only access, with the Trump administration’s cooperation.
Kollar-Kotelly, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, declined Friday to grant a longer-term block. Her decision comes in a lawsuit filed by retirees and union leaders who fear DOGE’s activities could expose sensitive information.
Their concerns are “understandable and no doubt widely shared," she found. But right now, the plaintiffs haven't shown they're at immediate risk of lasting damage from the small team obligated to keep the information confidential, Kollar-Kotelly wrote.
“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,” she wrote.
Kollar-Kotelly left the door open for the people who sued to come back if new evidence of immediate risk emerges, saying she “would not hesitate” to grant a block if there's evidence of risky information sharing.
