On Friday, the Supreme Court paved the way for the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, of the White House to get private data held by the Social Security Administration during the course of judicial processes.
In an unsigned ruling, the high court consented to temporarily suspend a Maryland federal district court’s injunction that restricted DOGE’s access to agency record systems that held the private data of millions of Americans. Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan were the three justices who dissented.
“We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,” the Supreme Court stated.
The Supreme Court’s emergency appeal was the first to reach the highest court directly involving DOGE, the federal government’s reduction project that was formerly overseen by Elon Musk. Numerous lawsuits have been triggered by DOGE’s extensive efforts.
Plaintiffs have claimed that the task force has breached federal privacy laws that regulate how the government gathers and uses data about Americans that is stored by agencies.
Jackson, who was joined by Sotomayor, stated that the Supreme Court’s ruling poses “severe privacy risks for millions” and that it is unclear whether it is in the public interest for the Social Security Administration to grant DOGE employees access to Americans’ data before it has been determined that they are entitled to it.
“The court grants a stay permitting the government to give unfettered data access to DOGE regardless — despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards, and all before we know for sure whether federal law countenances such access,” she stated. “The court is thereby, unfortunately, suggesting that what would be an extraordinary request for everyone else is nothing more than an ordinary day on the docket for this Administration.”
Two trade unions and an advocacy organization filed the challenge before the top court, claiming that the Social Security Administration had illegally given DOGE unrestricted access to its data systems, which contained vast amounts of personally identifiable and sensitive information.
The agency’s systems contain a variety of records, including financial information, work histories, medical information, and school records, in addition to Social Security numbers.
In April, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander found that the plaintiffs had a good chance of winning their case that the Social Security Administration had violated the Privacy Act and a federal law that governs the agency rulemaking process by granting DOGE access to the private data of millions of Americans.
Read Also: Maine Moves to Drop Real ID Program in June: Final Outcome Revealed
She did grant access to redacted or anonymized Social Security Administration data to DOGE team members, but only after they fulfilled specific requirements, like going through background checks and trainings.
The Justice Department sought immediate relief from the Supreme Court after the Trump administration’s plea to lift that injunction was denied by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer said that the ban is requiring the executive branch to prevent federal employees who are responsible for improving government systems from accessing the data they hold. Sauer asked the high court to overturn the district court’s injunction.
Additionally, Sauer contended that the district court lacked the legal jurisdiction to grant broad relief, which he claimed hurt “urgent federal priorities” and interfered with the executive branch’s operations.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys, however, claimed that the Social Security Administration’s attempts to grant DOGE team members access to its data systems deviate from the agency’s data security pledge.
“SSA granted unprecedented and sweeping access to the most sensitive information held by the government, doing so without acknowledging the sea change in their own practices and policies, without considering the reliance interests millions of Americans have in SSA continuing to preserve the confidence of their information, and without acknowledging or considering the risks posed by unauthorized DOGE Team access,” they stated in a filing.
The unions contended that Americans’ right to privacy is at risk and that the harm to their members increases daily as a result of DOGE’s access to private, personally identifiable information at the Social Security Administration.
On his first day back in the White House, President Trump created DOGE. The president’s proposal to reduce the size of government includes sending the task force’s staff to departments throughout the executive branch.
However, DOGE’s attempts to obtain sensitive information about Americans at organizations like the Office of Personnel Management, the Departments of Treasury, and Education have led to legal disputes regarding whether the task force’s members have been abiding by the Privacy Act, a federal law that attempts to safeguard Americans’ private information.
Prior to his departure from government employment last week, Musk worked for DOGE, which sparked a separate round of complaints claiming his actions violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution.
In March, another federal judge in Maryland declared that Musk and DOGE’s unilateral closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development was probably a violation of the Constitution. The 4th Circuit consented to put that ruling on hold while it reviews a Trump administration appeal.
