Two labor unions and a grassroots advocacy group urged the Supreme Court on Monday to leave in place an order by a federal judge in Maryland that temporarily prohibits members of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the records of the Social Security Administration. Lawyers for the groups told the justices that, “in a sudden and striking departure from generations of precedent spanning more than a dozen presidential administrations,” the SSA “now seeks to throw open its data systems to unauthorized (and often unvetted) personnel who have no demonstrated need for the personally identifiable information they seek.”
DOGE, which is not a cabinet-level department, was created in January by President Donald Trump to modernize government technology and cut waste and fraud. The challengers in this case went to federal court in Baltimore, Md., to contest SSA’s decision to provide access to its records to DOGE.
Senior U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander issued an order that temporarily barred DOGE team members from obtaining access to SSA records while litigation continues in the lower courts. A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit rejected the government’s request to pause Hollander’s order.
On May 2, the Trump administration came to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to step in. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices that Hollander’s order “imposes a significant obstacle to executing one of the President’s chief policy initiatives.” Moreover, he contended, the challengers in this case do not have a legal right to bring their lawsuit because they cannot show that their members have been injured by the actions that they seek to block.
The groups countered on Monday afternoon that Hollander had merely issued a “limited” order “to preserve the status quo” and “safeguard the public’s private information” while the litigation moves forward. The government has never explained why the DOGE team needs “unfettered access to any SSA system,” they observed. And in any event, they added, Hollander’s order only bars access for DOGE team members who have not yet undergone training and background checks. “Once they receive that training and the paperwork is complete,” they noted, “access may be granted.”
In contrast with the government, the groups continued, their members will suffer permanent harm if Hollander’s order is lifted. The “data SSA houses is among the most sensitive in government records, including ‘extensive medical and mental health records’ and family records,” they stressed. And it would be difficult to compensate them once the records are disclosed, they wrote, because “the core harm stems from the invasion of privacy itself.”
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