Trump's DOGE data push sparks Supreme Court showdown
The Trump administration approached the Supreme Court on Friday with a request for permission to allow members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to sensitive personal data from Social Security insurance agencies. The face of DOGE is Elon Musk.
The government seeks to overturn a decision made by federal judge Ellen L. Hollander from Maryland, who ruled that Musk's team's inspection of Social Security informational systems may contravene federal privacy protection regulations.
The Trump administration's lawyers argue that Social Security data could aid in a broader strategy to reduce immigration, particularly as the president takes action to deport students and other foreign nationals.
In her ruling, Judge Hollander stated that "intrusion into the personal affairs of millions of Americans — absent an adequate explanation for the need to do so — is not in the public interest."
Her decision was challenged by Attorney General D. John Sauer.
"This emergency application presents a now-familiar theme: a district court has issued sweeping injunctive relief without legal authority to do so, in ways that inflict ongoing, irreparable harm on urgent federal priorities and stymie the executive branch’s functions," argued Sauer, as quoted by the newspaper "The New York Times".
According to Sauer, Judge Hollander, appointed by President Barack Obama, exceeded her authority.
The district court is forcing the administration to prevent employees responsible for modernising government IT systems from accessing data, claiming that it is not necessary for them, argued the prosecutor.
In his view, if district courts continue to block the actions of specialists working on reforming information systems, the government will not be able to effectively eliminate waste and fraud.
The Trump administration strikes at the judiciary
Trump and his allies have repeatedly criticised lower court judges for blocking their initiatives, including the issuing of nationwide injunctions.
The "NYT" points out that the Republican administration has submitted several motions to the Supreme Court in recent weeks, including one concerning immigration. Some of these motions are awaiting decisions from the judges, who are set to hear arguments on 15 May regarding the scope of permissible court orders challenging the president's efforts to abolish automatic citizenship for those born in the USA.
