On Thursday night, Donald Trump’s interim chief of the Social Security Administration hinted at the possibility of shutting down the agency responsible for managing crucial support programs for seniors and individuals with disabilities. This could happen if Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are not granted access to sensitive, non-anonymized personal information concerning hundreds of millions of Americans, as mandated by a judge’s ruling.
“My anti-fraud team would consist of DOGE affiliates. My IT personnel would be DOGE affiliates,” stated Lee Dudek, the acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA). He contended that the court order was excessively broad, according to Bloomberg News. “Under the current circumstances, I will comply fully and restrict access to our IT systems for all SSA employees,” he declared, adding, “In fact, I want to switch it off and let the judiciary determine how to operate a federal agency.”
Dudek’s threat to prevent SSA personnel from utilizing the agency’s IT systems — which could disrupt Social Security payments — emerged in reaction to a temporary restraining order issued by a judge in a case initiated by the AFL-CIO labor union. This order prohibits SSA officials from granting DOGE, including Musk, and the SSA’s DOGE team access to any personally identifiable information. It also instructs Musk and DOGE to eliminate any non-anonymized personal data in their possession and restricts their access to SSA computers or code.
Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander asserted that the SSA had likely breached privacy and administrative laws by allowing DOGE “unlimited access to the personal and private information of millions of Americans, which includes but is not limited to Social Security numbers, medical and mental health records, hospitalization records, drivers’ license numbers, bank and credit card details, tax documents, income history, work history, marriage and birth certificates, and home and work addresses.”
She further noted that the “defendants, along with the so-called experts on the DOGE Team, never provided or articulated a single justification for needing unrestricted access to SSA’s comprehensive record systems, thus exposing the sensitive, confidential, and private information that millions of Americans entrusted to their government.”
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Hollander’s ruling does permit the SSA to provide DOGE members with “access to redacted or anonymized data and records,” provided they undergo standard training designed for employees who work with Social Security data systems. This training is meant to ensure comprehension of the federal laws, regulations, and policies that safeguard personally identifiable information.
In essence, Musk and DOGE are required to adhere to the existing privacy laws. Dudek, Trump’s acting commissioner for the SSA, stated that this mandate serves as a rationale for his threats to suspend the vital support program that approximately 71 million Americans depend on.
Dudek’s remarks come as DOGE is poised to close numerous SSA offices, potentially restrict phone services, and require beneficiaries to physically visit offices to confirm their identities — modifications that could overwhelm the system and hinder seniors and individuals with disabilities from receiving their benefits.
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Musk, the richest individual in the world, has baselessly characterized Social Security as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” He has made unfounded assertions that millions of deceased individuals could be receiving Social Security benefits. The Tesla CEO has recently claimed he aims to eliminate $700 billion in fraud annually, a figure that far exceeds expert estimates, from entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
According to the Trump administration, Musk and DOGE must have access to everyone’s most private data — or else you, your parents, or your grandparents won’t be eligible for Social Security.
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