SCOTUS gives DOGE access to Social Security data

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court's conservative majority on Friday granted DOGE the ability to access sensitive data inside the Social Security Administration, lifting a lower court injunction and affirming the Trump administration's broad assertion of power over the executive branch.

"The factors in this case warrant granting the requested stay," the Court wrote in an unsigned order. "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."

A federal employee union, which brought the challenge, accused DOGE of moving to expose Americans' highly personal information to unauthorized and untrained staffers in violation of federal law.

Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

"Today, the Court grants a stay permitting the Government to give unfettered data access to DOGE regardless-despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards, and all before we know for sure whether federal law countenances such access," Jackson wrote.