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In a controversial ruling that has stirred nationwide privacy concerns, the U.S. Supreme Court has approved access for Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to the Social Security records of millions of Americans.

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The court, in a divided decision delivered Friday, granted the Trump administration’s appeal to overturn an earlier ban restricting DOGE's access to personal data held by the Social Security Administration (SSA). In a brief, unsigned order, the court stated:

“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 decision allows DOGE, a department set up during Trump’s second term to cut federal spending, to gain entry into a highly sensitive data trove that includes Social Security numbers, medical history, bank records, and more.

Liberal justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented, warning of the severe privacy implications.

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“Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, bank-account numbers, medical records — all of that, and more, is in the mix,” Jackson stated in her dissent.

She added, “The Government wants to give DOGE unfettered access to this personal, non-anonymized information right now — before the courts have time to assess whether DOGE’s access is lawful.”

The issue began when a coalition of U.S. labor unions filed a federal lawsuit, accusing the SSA of granting unauthorized DOGE personnel access to Americans' private data without safeguards or transparency. In April, District Judge Ellen Hollander issued a temporary injunction, ruling that only redacted or anonymized data could be shared, and only with DOGE employees who had completed extensive federal privacy training.

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DOGE, originally led by Elon Musk before a public fallout with Trump, was given sweeping mandates to identify budget inefficiencies across federal agencies. However, civil liberties organizations have criticized the department’s growing power and lack of oversight.

This Supreme Court decision is likely to intensify the ongoing debate over government surveillance and digital privacy, especially as DOGE ramps up efforts to overhaul welfare and healthcare systems.

Privacy advocates warn that Friday’s ruling could set a dangerous precedent, while Trump supporters defend it as a necessary tool for reducing fraud and slashing unnecessary government expenses.

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