Welcome to The Logoff. Today, Im focusing on a fight over control of the Treasury Departments payment system, a legal battle with big implications for our democracy. At stake is Congresss ability to keep control over government spending, a critical (and constitutional) check on Donald Trumps power.Whats the latest? A federal judge on Thursday signed off on an agreement limiting the access that Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency gets to the Treasury Departments payment system. For now, only two DOGE employees will be able to view the systems inner workings, but they wont be able to make changes or cancel payments.Back up. Whats the context here? For weeks, DOGE employees have been pushing to access the system which handles trillions of dollars of federal spending and sparring with career (non-political) Treasury employees who oversee it. Government employees groups sued to block DOGEs access, resulting in Thursdays agreement.What access does DOGE want? Ultimately, DOGE is seeking the ability to unilaterally cancel payments. Thats clear after the New York Times and CNN revealed that Trumps team had tried unsuccessfully to get Treasury to cancel all payments from the US Agency International Development, the agency Trump has since gutted.What happens next? The limited-access deal will remain in place while the federal court case goes forward.What are the bigger stakes here? There are privacy and security concerns, but this is ultimately about the balance of power. The ability to cancel Treasury payments would effectively give Trump control over government spending. The Constitution reserves that power for Congress, and Trump taking it would be a massive expansion of his authority. It would also allow Trumps team to rapidly paralyze spending at government agencies that dont align with his agenda, making the dismantling of USAID easier to replicate.And with that, its time to log off ...Okay! I know that was a lot. Thanks for making it through. Its Friday, so I have a choose-your-own adventure set of links for you. If youre exhausted and just need a laugh, heres my favorite (and highly rewatchable) Saturday Night Live skit in a good while. And if youre feeling motivated, heres a super helpful article on how to bring down your grocery bills. Either way, I really appreciate you reading. Have a fulfilling weekend, and Ill see you back here next week.See More: