The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow the Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems, which contain personal information on millions of Americans.
The administration has said that DOGE needs access in order to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, arguing that the high court should place the lower court’s order on hold.
Solicitor General John Sauer suggested the judge’s restrictions invite further intervention into government activity. President Donald Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly criticized judges for pausing his administration’s efforts through nationwide injunctions.
“Left undisturbed, this preliminary injunction will only invite further judicial incursions into internal agency decision-making,” Sauer wrote.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander blocked DOGE’s team from seeking Social Security Administration records in an effort to abide by the “commitment to the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information entrusted to it by the American people.”
Hollander ruled that DOGE could be granted “access to redacted or anonymized data and records” once DOGE members satisfied certain requirements such as receiving training on privacy laws and background investigations.
However, Sauer contended Hollander was interjecting into the executive’s branch functions.
“The district court’s flawed injunction forecloses the executive branch from carrying out the pressing priorities of modernizing government information systems and ferreting out fraud, waste, and abuse — all at the behest of plaintiffs who gave their information to the agencies with the knowledge that other government employees may access their data,” Sauer wrote.
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An appeals court already rejected the request by the Trump administration to overrule the judge’s block on accessing Social Security records as the lawsuit plays out, prompting the government to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court.
“The president will continue to seek all legal remedies available to ensure the will of the American people is executed,” Liz Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
