A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing data systems at the Social Security Administration.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander called the work by DOGE a “fishing expedition.”
“The order also requires the team to delete any personally identifiable data in their possession,” the outlet stated.
BREAKING: Federal judge blocks Elon Musk’s DOGE team from accessing Social Security Administration personal information for now. https://t.co/VQJ7LN7iTQ
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 20, 2025
The Social Security Administration possesses personal data for millions of Americans.
In a 137-page decision, Hollander claimed DOGE’s access to Social Security systems likely violates the Privacy Act.
A judge has blocked DOGE from accessing sensitive Social Security data, raising concerns of a "fishing expedition" https://t.co/P7SrWX9qnT pic.twitter.com/RDM30iPrTC
— CNN (@CNN) March 20, 2025
From the Associated Press:
U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland found that the team got broad access to sensitive information at the Social Security Administration to search for fraud with little justification.
“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion,” she wrote.
The order does allow DOGE staffers to access to data that’s been redacted or stripped of anything personally identifiable, if they undergo training and background checks.
“To be sure, rooting out possible fraud, waste, and mismanagement in the SSA is in the public interest. But, that does not mean that the government can flout the law to do so,” Hollander wrote.
The Trump administration says DOGE is targeting waste in the federal government. Musk has been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud, describing it as a “ ponzi scheme ” and insisting that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending.
BREAKING: A federal judge in Maryland has just barred DOGE from accessing Social Security systems, saying the group is on a "fishing expedition" that jeopardizes people's personal data.https://t.co/eiSctrpB3n pic.twitter.com/qX9j26yPSo
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) March 20, 2025
Federal judge prevents DOGE from accessing Americans' Social Security records https://t.co/UbvzZeYiMC
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) March 20, 2025
Per CBS News:
She granted a request for a temporary restraining order that was sought by the labor unions, which filed a lawsuit in February that challenged the legality of the SSA’s decision to allow DOGE to get its hands on sensitive, personal and confidential information pertaining to millions of Americans.
“The defense does not appear to share a privacy concern for the millions of Americans whose SSA records were made available to the DOGE affiliates, without their consent, and which contain sensitive, confidential, and personally identifiable information,” wrote Hollander, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
The judge’s order blocks officials at the SSA from granting DOGE access to systems containing Americans’ personal information. It also requires Elon Musk, DOGE and its team members at the agency to delete all non-anonymized personal information that they obtained from the SSA, and prevents them from accessing any agency computer or software code.
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, cheered the decision as a win for American workers and retirees across the country.
“The court saw that Elon Musk and his unqualified lackeys present a grave danger to Social Security and have illegally accessed the data of millions of Americans,” Saunders said in a statement. “This decision will not only force them to delete any data they have currently saved, but it will also block them from further sharing, accessing or disclosing our Social Security information.”
The Justice Department has said that 10 members of the DOGE team are working at the SSA, and seven of them have had access to personal information housed in its data systems.
Read the full ruling HERE.
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