The Supreme Court has issued a temporary order allowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access private data maintained by the Social Security Administration.
This includes Social Security numbers, medical histories, mental health evaluations, and family court records.
The unsigned order from the nation’s highest court granted a request from the Trump administration, effectively overturning lower court decisions that had limited DOGE’s reach.
NPR reported that the case is now being returned to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond for further deliberation on the legal merits.
The Court ruled in a 6–3 decision, with the conservative majority voting to approve temporary access for DOGE. The three liberal justices dissented, asserting they would have denied access while the legal battle continued through the appeals process.
The case began at the outset of President Donald Trump’s second term, when he directed DOGE to overhaul outdated federal software and improve government operational efficiency.
The agency, which was previously led by Elon Musk, was given the task of streamlining federal technology systems, per the Conservative Brief.
Michelle King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration at the time, declined to provide DOGE with access to sensitive records. Her refusal led