Trump team asks court to let Musk's agency access Social Security data
Photo: billionaire Elon Musk (Getty Images)
The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to grant Elon Musk's agency access to confidential Social Security data — a privacy battle that could affect millions of people, according to Bloomberg.
Trump officials are currently appealing a lower federal court ruling that bars the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from having full access to personal information stored in the Social Security Administration (SSA) database. The order, issued by US District Judge Ellen Lipton, also requires individuals associated with DOGE to "destroy and delete" any data they have already obtained.
On Friday, the US government argued that the Supreme Court should overturn the Baltimore judge’s decision and restore DOGE’s access while the Justice Department pursues an appeal. Musk’s team is seeking the data as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to identify what he claims are unnecessary federal government expenditures.
Lower court rulings have been blocking the administration from advancing key policy goals at one of the country’s major federal agencies for more than a month, US Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in an emergency filing.
"The government cannot eliminate waste and fraud if district courts bar the very agency personnel with expertise and the designated mission of curtailing such waste and fraud from performing their jobs," he added.
On Wednesday, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the restriction on DOGE’s access in a 9–6 vote. Writing on behalf of the seven-member majority, Judge Robert Bruce King noted that, according to Judge Hollander’s findings, DOGE is seeking a level of access held only by a handful of top officials within the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The contested data includes Social Security numbers, addresses, birth and marriage certificates, tax and financial records, employment history, as well as bank account and credit card information.
"All this highly sensitive personal information has long been handed over to SSA by the American people with every reason to believe that the information would be fiercely protected," Judge King stated.
DOGE has access to other classified data
Roughly a week ago, The Washington Post reported that DOGE, under Musk’s leadership, had gained access to a classified Justice Department system containing information on millions of migrants. This, in turn, has raised further concerns over privacy.
