While appealing a ruling that barred the advisory group, the Trump administration on Friday requested that the Supreme Court grant the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to the personal information of millions of Americans that was kept by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
In the emergency application, the justices are asked to overturn a Maryland federal judge’s order that prohibits DOGE from examining SSA systems that hold personally identifiable information, such as bank account information, salary history, medical and mental health records, and Social Security numbers.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the application, “This emergency application presents a now-familiar theme: a district court has issued sweeping injunctive relief without legal authority to do so, in ways that inflict ongoing, irreparable harm on urgent federal priorities and stymie the Executive Branch’s functions.”
Sauer contended that U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander’s decision prohibiting the advisory group from accessing the SSA’s networks undermines DOGE’s mandate to “streamline government, eliminate waste, ferret out fraud, and modernize outdated systems.”
“The government cannot eliminate waste and fraud if district courts bar the very agency personnel with expertise and the designated mission of curtailing such waste and fraud from performing their jobs,” he stated.
The ruling mandates that DOGE agents have undergone the required training for such systems, but it still permits the SSA to grant DOGE access to redacted or anonymized data and records.
In her April 17 ruling granting injunctive relief, Hollander, a former Obama appointee, stated that taxpayers have “every right” to expect their government to make sure their “hard-earned money is not squandered” and that DOGE’s goals are “laudable.” However, that work is not the issue.
The judge wrote, “The issue is about how they want to do the work.”
A combination of government unions, supported by the left-leaning legal organization Democracy Forward, contested DOGE’s eligibility for Social Security.
The unions contend that DOGE’s unrestricted access to the private information violates both the SSA’s own policies and procedures as well as privacy laws.
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The coalition has until Monday to respond to the emergency request.
The government sought relief from the Supreme Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled in a divided 9-6 vote on Wednesday that it would not halt Hollander’s order.
