In a bold move, the Trump administration has turned to the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch attempt to enable the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to gain unrestricted access to millions of Americans’ Social Security data. The Justice Department’s appeal aims to overturn a federal judge’s order blocking the initiative, which was halted after concerns that the data-sharing arrangement violated federal privacy laws.
The Justice Department has characterized the judge’s decision as an overstep, claiming that halting the access was a misjudgment by the judiciary. “The district court is forcing the Executive Branch to stop employees tasked with modernizing government data systems from accessing essential information,” the filing argued, emphasizing that this access was critical for the overhaul of the federal government’s bureaucratic structure.
DOGE, which has rapidly expanded its reach across federal agencies, is central to Trump’s vision of eliminating wasteful government spending and pushing through significant workforce reductions. However, the administration’s push to access Social Security Administration (SSA) data has been fiercely contested. A lawsuit filed by two labor unions and a privacy advocacy group led to the order preventing DOGE from gaining access to the SSA’s sensitive data.
The Supreme Court has set a deadline for the challengers to respond to the administration’s request by May 12. This latest legal confrontation follows a Maryland judge’s ruling in April, which reinforced a previous order blocking DOGE’s access, citing the potential violation of Americans’ privacy. U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander questioned DOGE’s need for “unprecedented, unfettered access” to the SSA’s data systems, calling it a significant breach of long-established privacy standards.
Despite an appeal from the Trump administration, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban, further intensifying the legal battle. As the case moves toward the Supreme Court, the future of this contentious initiative remains uncertain.
