Federal judge considers blocking DOGE from accessing Social Security data of millions of Americans [View all]

Source: AP

Updated 5:02 PM EDT, March 14, 2025


BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge is considering whether to temporarily block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Social Security Administration systems that hold sensitive data on millions of Americans. A group of labor unions and retirees sued the Trump administration and asked the court to issue an emergency order limiting DOGE’s access to the agency and its data.

DOGE’s “nearly unlimited” access violates privacy laws and presents massive information security risks, they said. A recently departed Social Security official who saw the DOGE team sweep into the agency said she is deeply worried about sensitive information being exposed. The administration has said DOGE is targeting waste and fraud in the federal government.

During a Friday hearing on the issue in federal court in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander repeatedly questioned attorneys for the government about why the DOGE team needed such a large quantity of sensitive personal information about Social Security recipients, including health records for disability applicants. She questioned whether a more targeted approach would allow DOGE to uncover improper payments without accessing so much data.

“This is like hitting a fly with a sledgehammer,” she said of the Trump administration’s approach.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/social-security-lawsuit-trump-doge-musk-4ecd670b2dacb46ee139cb20471a3932