‘The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic,’ the judge wrote.
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), fronted by Elon Musk, from personal Social Security Administration (SSA) information, delivering another judicial setback for the Trump administration.
In a 137-page temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander wrote that DOGE also must delete any personally identifiable data that it may have in its possession.
“The American public may well applaud and support the Trump Administration’s mission to root out fraud, waste, and bloat from federal agencies, including SSA, to the extent it exists. But, by what means and methods?” the Maryland-based judge asked in her conclusion. “The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion.”
DOGE appears to have started “a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack,” she also said, adding that the SSA provided DOGE staff with Americans’ personal records.
That included “unbridled access to the personal and private data of millions of Americans, including but not limited to Social Security numbers, medical records, mental health records, hospitalization records, drivers’ license numbers, bank and credit card information, tax information, income history, work history, birth and marriage certificates, and home and work addresses,” the judge said.
Plaintiffs who filed their lawsuit against SSA said that DOGE had “nearly unlimited” access that violates privacy laws and presents massive information security risks. The lawsuit was led by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees union.
In their initial complaint filed in February at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the union and other plaintiffs argued that DOGE’s activity at the SSA is “not just an unprecedented data grab” but also “an unprecedented power grab.”
Describing DOGE’s efforts as “overreach,” the plaintiffs said the department is “threatening to review and expose the personal data of millions of Americans, without any express authority, and in violation of the many protections Congress and the Executive Branch have erected to protect against such data mining and misuse.”
