WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge temporarily blocked billionaires on Thursday Elon Musk Government Efficiency Bureau social security The system, which holds personal data about millions of Americans, calls their work “fishing expeditions.”
This order also requires that you delete any personally identifiable data owned by the team.
Maryland US District Judge Judge Ellen Hollander found that the team had extensive access to the Social Security Agency's confidential information and searched for fraud with little justification.
“The Doge team is engaged in fishing expeditions seeking fraud epidemics, based essentially on the fishing expeditions at SSA, more than doubt,” she writes.
This order allows Doge staff to access data that has been compiled or deprived of personal identifiable when they have undergone training or background checks.
“It's certainly in the public interest to eradicate the possibility of fraud, waste and management in SSA. But that doesn't mean that the government is fling the law to do so,” Hollander wrote.
The Trump administration says Doge is targeting federal waste. Musk focuses on social security as a suspect in fraud, and describes it as “. Ponzi scheme ” and argue that reducing waste in the program is an important way to reduce government spending.
The ruling, which could be challenged at the time of appeal, is caught up in a lawsuit filed earlier by trade unions, retirees and advocacy groups. They argued that Doge Access violates privacy laws and presents serious information security risks. The lawsuit included a declaration from a recently deceased Social Security official who saw the Doge team take over the agency.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to court documents, Doge detailed a team of 10 SSA federal employees.
All staff were federal employees and were permitted to access data under the federal privacy laws, the government alleges, with no evidence of inappropriate sharing of personal data.
The Justice Department also said DOGE access does not deviate significantly from normal practices within agencies where employees are permitted to search the database regularly. However, the plaintiff's lawyers called access unprecedented.
Lee Sanders, an employee of the United States State Federation, County and City, was called a “big victory for workers and retirees across the country.”
“The court recognized the true immediate danger of Doge's reckless actions and took action to stop them,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward.
Doge has at least some access to other government databases, including Ministry of Finance and IRS.
At the SSA, Doge staffers had infused their agents with seating days after Trump's inauguration, asking software engineers to have quick access to data systems, which are usually carefully restricted, even within the government, a former official said in court documents.
According to Tiffany Frick, former chairman of the agency, the team appeared to be searching for fraud based on inaccuracy and misunderstanding.
Hollander, 75, was appointed president based in Baltimore. Barack Obama, He is the latest judge to consider Doge-related cases.
The team has drawn almost 20 cases. Early this week Another Maryland judge It discovered that Doge's dismantling of the US International Development Agency is likely to be unconstitutional.
Other judges raised questions about Doge's drastic cost-cutting efforts, but they I don't always agree The risk is imminent enough to block teams from the government system.
___
Baltimore Associated Press Writers Chris Megerian and Lea Skene contributed the report.
