Overview

• The Supreme Court lifted a Maryland federal judge’s injunction, clearing the way for DOGE personnel to access unredacted Social Security Administration systems containing millions of Americans’ personal data.
• The unsigned 6-3 orders drew dissents from Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson, who cautioned that the rulings raise significant privacy risks.
• Lower courts had limited DOGE’s data review to redacted or anonymized records after finding potential violations of the Privacy Act, but an appeals court had declined to stay those restrictions.
• In a separate emergency ruling, the justices stayed a discovery order in a CREW FOIA lawsuit, blocking demands for DOGE’s internal communications and depositions of its acting administrator.
• DOGE’s broader effort to modernize government systems and root out waste, fraud and abuse now hinges on ongoing litigation over its scope and transparency obligations.