Trump DOJ Admits DOGE Staff May Have Improperly Accessed Social Security Data
A federal court filing shows the Trump administration now acknowledges that members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may have improperly accessed Americans’ Social Security data while working inside the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The admission contradicts earlier statements by SSA officials and DOJ lawyers, raising questions about how far DOGE’s access extended and whether it was used for political purposes.
According to the newly disclosed documents, two DOGE staffers embedded at SSA engaged with an outside political advocacy group in March 2025, signing a “Voter Data Agreement” to potentially match state voter rolls against SSA records — an activity that falls outside DOGE’s official mission to cut government waste and abuse.
Complicating matters, internal review found that the employees shared agency data among themselves on an unapproved third-party server (Cloudflare), and at times had access to systems that a court had ruled off-limits. The SSA still does not know exactly what information was on that server.
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“SSA has referred the involved DOGE employees for potential Hatch Act violations,” a senior Justice Department official wrote in the filing, referring possible ethics breaches to the Office of Special Counsel.
This matters because Social Security records contain highly sensitive personal identifiers, and any political or unauthorized use of that data could undermine public trust and violate federal privacy law.
The correction in court filings also highlights broader issues about DOGE’s oversight and earlier assurances from Social Security officials about the security of the data.
Next steps include potential Special Counsel review and possible civil litigation if misuse is confirmed. Congressional hearings may also revisit data access rules for federal efficiency teams.
Public scrutiny of data security and political neutrality at federal agencies is likely to intensify.
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