The Department of Government Efficiency failed to convince a federal Maryland judge to pause an injunction restricting its ability to review personal information from the Social Security administration while it appeals the order.
The findings Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander made in granting the preliminary injunction “are the same factors” that led her to deny the government’s request to stay pending appeal of the ruling in the US District Court for the District of Maryland. The plaintiffs are due to respond to a similar request the government made to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by 3 p.m. Wednesday.
- DOGE can access anonymized data, and can access some nonanonymized information if certain conditions are met, the court said
- Hollander said that it appeared DOGE could pursue anti-fraud initiatives with anonymized data; that it would pose an inconvenience isn’t the same as irreparable harm
- The damage from granting a stay would be “decidedly hard” to restore because then the Social Security data would be accessible, possibly for months, the court said
Democracy Forward represents the plaintiffs.
The case is AFSCME v. Social Sec. Admin., D. Md., No. 1:25-cv-00596, 4/22/25.
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