A federal judge imposed new restrictions on the so-called Department of Government Efficiency's access to sensitive Social Security data.
U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander issued a preliminary injunction late Thursday that sided with a consortium of labor unions and retirees who alleged that DOGE's actions violate privacy laws and pose a massive security risk, although the ruling does allow billionaire Elon Musk's team to access data that has been redacted or stripped of personal identification if they have undergone background checks, reported the Associated Press.
“The objective to address fraud, waste, mismanagement, and bloat is laudable, and one that the American public presumably applauds and supports,” Hollander wrote in the ruling. “Indeed, the taxpayers have every right to expect their government to make sure that their hard earned money is not squandered.”
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Hollander ordered DOGE staffers to purge all the non-anonymized Social Security data they have accessed since president Donald Trump's inauguration and banned them from making changes to the agency's computer code or software, and they also must remove any software or code they've already installed.
“For some 90 years, SSA has been guided by the foundational principle of an expectation of privacy with respect to its records. This case exposes a wide fissure in the foundation,” the judge wrote.
Trump administration attorneys complained that changing the process would hamper their efforts to root out alleged fraud.
“While anonymization is possible, it is extremely burdensome,” said Justice Department attorney Bradley Humphreys.
The 75-year-old judge, who was appointed by Barack Obama, admonished Humphreys when he argued that her questions sounded like a "policy disagreement."
“I do take offense at your comment because I’m just trying to understand the system,” the judge reportedly said.
Hollander’s injunction could potentially be appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has sided with the Trump administration in other cases, including one that allowed DOGE to access the U.S. Agency for International Development and another that permitted executive orders against diversity, equity and inclusion move forward.
