A sharply divided US Supreme Court on Friday granted President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to the Social Security data of millions of Americans.
The ruling overturned an April district court order that had restricted DOGE’s access to sensitive Social Security Administration (SSA) records, following an appeal by the Trump administration.
In a brief unsigned order, the Supreme Court stated, “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 three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warning the decision poses “grave privacy risks for millions of Americans.”
“Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, bank-account numbers, medical records — all of that, and more, is in the mix,” Jackson said. “The government wants to give DOGE unfettered access to this personal, non-anonymized information before the courts have had a chance to assess whether such access is lawful.”
In her earlier ruling, District Judge Ellen Hollander barred DOGE staff from accessing personally identifiable data such as Social Security numbers, medical histories, or bank records. She mandated that the SSA could only provide redacted or anonymized records to DOGE employees who had passed background checks and training on relevant laws and privacy policies.
Social Security numbers serve as a critical identifier for Americans, used in reporting earnings, qualifying for benefits, and other essential functions.
The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of unions who argued the SSA had recklessly exposed personal data to unauthorized DOGE personnel.
At the time, DOGE was led by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has since publicly clashed with President Trump.
Since returning to office, Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with judicial decisions that have blocked or delayed several of his executive actions.
