Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed two challenges to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). First, it permitted DOGE to access the personal data of millions of Americans kept by the Social Security Administration while a legal dispute over the issue plays out in lower courts. Second, it stayed discovery proceedings in a case challenging DOGE’s authority, prohibiting for now a public view into the agency’s workings. In response, Devon Ombres, senior director for Courts and Legal Policy at American Progress, issued the following statement:
This action by six far-right justices is an affront to every principle of government transparency and the rule of law. DOGE has shown no need to review every American’s personal information, and the high court provides no explanation in granting it access. Americans have no way to know how DOGE will use or misuse this information, nor what DOGE is or what it is doing. Shame on the court for rubber stamping this administration’s lawlessness and further undermining the public’s trust in government, which President Trump has eroded.
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