The U.S. Treasury Department has decided not to allow Elon Musk’s new government efficiency agency to access its payment systems for now, as a judge reviews a lawsuit claiming the billionaire and adviser to former President Donald Trump made unauthorized searches within these systems.

This agreement, made late Wednesday between the Treasury and a coalition of federal employee unions and retirees, will temporarily protect billions of sensitive government payment records from being handed over to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. This department is currently involved in a broad initiative aimed at reducing federal overhead and tackling supposed waste and fraud in spending.

In a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., federal court on Monday, the employee unions and retirees accused the Treasury of breaching privacy laws by granting Musk and DOGE “full access” to government payment records that include everything from income tax payments to Social Security benefits and federal employee wages.

During the court hearing on Wednesday, Treasury attorneys refuted claims of violating privacy laws, stating that only two individuals linked to DOGE had been granted read-only access to the payment systems. They clarified that both individuals were special government employees at the Treasury.

Despite this, the government came to a preliminary agreement with the plaintiffs to ensure that no additional individuals associated with DOGE can access the payment records while the case is being resolved.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed Fox Business on Wednesday that Musk would not influence the department’s payment system, emphasizing that any decisions regarding payment stoppages would fall to other agencies.