A U.S. district court judge in Maryland stopped President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency initiative from accessing Social Security information.
According to CNBC, Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander issued a "scathing" ruling that temporarily bars the DOGE team from accessing records at the Social Security Administration.
When he came into office, Trump created DOGE by executive order and tasked tech billionaire Elon Musk with finding government reductions. That initiative has been behind the upheaval and dismantling of government agencies. Websites, grants, programs, and employees have been cut or frozen under the promise that Trump will save taxpayers trillions.
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The judge said in the ruling that the team is on a "fishing expedition" that ultimately jeopardizes Americans' personal data.
“The defense does not appear to share a privacy concern for the millions of Americans whose SSA records were made available to the DOGE affiliates, without their consent,” the judge wrote.
But the ruling goes beyond mentioning DOGE employees.
CNBC noted that the temporary restraining order "blocks the Social Security Administration, acting commissioner Leland Dudek and chief information officer Michael Russo, as well as all related agents and employees working with them, from granting access to any system containing personally identifiable information."
The judge also pointed out the irony that those working for DOGE enjoy privacy from the public.
"Ironically, the identity of these DOGE affiliates has been concealed because defendants are concerned that the disclosure of even their names would expose them to harassment and thus invade their privacy," she wrote.