Payam Javan: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has temporarily granted the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency formerly led by Elon Musk, full access to a vast array of sensitive data held by the Social Security Administration (SSA). This includes Social Security numbers, medical and mental health records, and family court information. The unsigned order, which sided with a request from the Trump administration, overturns previous lower court decisions that had restricted DOGE’s access to this highly confidential data. The case has now been sent back to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for further review on its merits.

The 6-3 decision saw the Court’s conservative majority support the temporary access for DOGE, while the three liberal justices dissented, arguing against granting access while the appeals process continues. This ruling stems from the beginning of Trump’s second term when he tasked DOGE with modernizing federal technology. The initial refusal by Acting Social Security Commissioner Michelle King to grant access led to her resignation, with her successor, Leland Dudek, subsequently approving what critics have called “unfettered access” to the SSA’s data systems.

This ruling is one of several recent high-profile decisions by the Supreme Court. On the same day, the Court declined to hear challenges to state and local lawsuits against oil companies seeking compensation for climate change-related damages, a decision that energy-producing states and industry groups had opposed. Earlier in the week, the Court also allowed the Trump administration to remove the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan, Cuban, Haitian, and Nicaraguan migrants, potentially exposing many to immediate deportation while their cases are heard in lower courts.