The U.S. Supreme Court issued two rulings Friday that favored the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal entity established under President Trump to reduce waste and modernize operations.
The rulings granted the agency access to Social Security records while blocking efforts to compel disclosure of internal documents.
The decisions came in response to separate legal challenges—one over DOGE’s request for Social Security Administration (SSA) data and the other over whether DOGE must comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by a watchdog group.
In the first case, the justices determined that DOGE staff assigned to the SSA must be granted access to internal records in order to fulfill their responsibilities.
The Court stated that DOGE personnel must be able to obtain records from the SSA to carry out their assigned tasks, the Washington Examiner reports.
A second decision, related to a FOIA lawsuit, reversed a district court order that would have required DOGE to release communications and recommendations.
The case was returned to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for further review.
DOGE, positioned as an advisory body under Trump, has faced resistance from labor organizations and transparency advocates over its