Supreme Court Allows DOGE to Access Social Security Data

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday gave the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) a green light to access millions of Americans’ most sensitive data. 

The unsigned 6-3 decision in SSA v. AFSCME granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to suspend a lower court injunction that had temporarily limited DOGE’s access to non-anonymized records held by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The ruling allows DOGE immediate access to personal data, including Social Security numbers, medical histories and banking information — data protected under the Privacy Act of 1974.

“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 majority ruled.

Plaintiffs in the case — a coalition of unions and retirees represented by Democracy Forward* — sued the Social Security Administration (SSA) because it gave DOGE staffers access to highly sensitive personal data without following established safeguards. They argued this violated the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Administrative Procedure Act, exposing millions of Americans to unlawful data disclosure.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, issued a blistering dissent, warning that the Court’s decision “creates grave privacy risks for millions of Americans.”

“The Government wants to give DOGE unfettered access to this personal, non-anonymized information right now before the courts have time to assess whether DOGE’s access is lawful,” Brown Jackson wrote. “But the Government fails to substantiate its stay request by showing that it or the public will suffer irreparable harm absent this Court’s intervention.”

The case stems from an executive order signed in January establishing DOGE, with a mandate to modernize federal software and root out fraud. DOGE demanded full access to SSA records – access the agency normally restricts even for its own employees without extensive safeguards.

The lower court had allowed DOGE limited access to anonymized data, while requiring staff to complete training and undergo background checks before handling sensitive records.

The Court’s stay is temporary — lasting only until appeal by the lower court or the Supreme Court decides whether to take up the case in full. But in the meantime, DOGE can now move forward with accessing and analyzing deeply personal SSA records without the prior protections ordered by lower courts.

This development comes as Russell Vought, former Director of the Office of Management and Budget and a key architect of Project 2025, takes the helm of DOGE following Elon Musk’s exit. 

*Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias is the chair of Democracy Forward’s board.