Supreme Court grants DOGE access to Social Security data, exempts it from FOIA disclosures

06/11/2025 / By Laura Harris

In a 6-3 decision on June 6, the U.S. Supreme Court granted DOGE access to sensitive Social Security Administration data and exempted it from Freedom of Information Act disclosures during ongoing litigation.
The decision lifts a prior injunction by Judge Ellen Hollander, who had warned DOGE’s data access posed serious privacy risks and lacked credible justification.
In a separate 6-3 ruling, the Court also held that DOGE is not required to release internal documents or communications sought by plaintiffs, including the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers.
The Trump administration cited three main fraud-detection initiatives to justify the data access: the “Are You Alive?” project, the Death Data Clean Up Project and the Fraud Detection Project.
DOGE Commissioner Frank Bisignano hailed the ruling as a “major victory for American taxpayers,” while the decision has sparked ongoing debate about surveillance, privacy and executive power.

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to sensitive Social Security Administration (SSA) data while shielding it from public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

In a 6-3 ruling on June 6, filed under docket 24A1063, the Supreme Court lifted an earlier injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander that barred DOGE from obtaining personally identifiable information, including financial and medical records, stored by the SSA. Hollander had warned in her April decision that the efforts of DOGE posed a serious threat to privacy and lacked a credible basis. (Related: Elon Musk’s DOGE uncovers $4.7 Trillion in untraceable federal spending, followed by massive social security fraud.)

“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion,” Hollander wrote in her April opinion. “It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack.”

The high court also ruled in a separate but related six-to-three decision that DOGE is not obligated to release internal documents or communications to plaintiffs in an ongoing FOIA lawsuit. The lawsuit, led by progressive organizations including the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers, sought insight into DOGE’s targeting criteria and coordination with other agencies.

“We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,” the Supreme Court said in its unsigned decision.

The ruling enables DOGE to resume its data operations immediately, even as legal challenges continue in lower courts.

DOGE commissioner celebrates Supreme Court ruling as a “major victory for American taxpayers”

DOGE has become a lightning rod in debates over federal oversight and civil liberties. Formed as part of a broader initiative to reduce the size of the federal workforce and root out inefficiencies, DOGE has aggressively pursued data-driven investigations into fraud, waste and abuse, particularly within entitlement programs.

It was first put on hold with a temporary restraining order in March, but the Trump administration cited three key initiatives to justify granting the DOGE access to Social Security Administration systems.

The first, known as the “Are You Alive?” project, focuses on identifying payments that may be mistakenly sent to deceased individuals. The second, the Death Data Clean Up Project, aims to update and verify records of individuals the government believes to be deceased. The third initiative, the Fraud Detention Project, investigates possible fraud related to changes in personal records, including wage reporting and direct deposit information.

DOGE Commissioner Frank Bisignano lauded the Supreme Court ruling.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling is a major victory for American taxpayers. The Social Security Administration will continue driving forward modernization efforts, streamlining government systems, and ensuring improved service and outcomes for our beneficiaries,” he said.

Watch this video of “Redacted” hosts discussing the DOGE’s discovery of Social Security fraud.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.