More: Dudek's threat to block SSA employees from using the agency's IT systems " a move that could halt Social Security payments " came in response to a judge's temporary restraining order in a case brought by the AFL-CIO labor union. The order bars Social Security Administration officials from allowing DOGE, including Musk, and the SSA's DOGE team to access personally identifiable information. It also directs Musk and DOGE to delete from their possession all non-anonymized personal data, and bars them from having access to SSA computers or code.

Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander wrote that the SSA had likely violated administrative and privacy laws when it gave DOGE "unbridled access to the personal and private data of millions of Americans, including but not limited to Social Security numbers, medical records, mental health records, hospitalization records, drivers' license numbers, bank and credit card information, tax information, income history, work history, birth and marriage certificates, and home and work addresses."

She added that the "defendants, with so-called experts on the DOGE Team, never identified or articulated even a single reason for which the DOGE Team needs unlimited access to SSA's entire record systems, thereby exposing personal, confidential, sensitive, and private information that millions of Americans entrusted to their government."

Hollander's order does allow the SSA to grant DOGE members "access to redacted or anonymized data and records" if they receive standard training for employees who generally work with Social Security data systems, to ensure they understand applicable federal laws, regulations, and policies that protect the privacy of personally identifiable information.

In other words, Musk and DOGE must comply with existing privacy laws. According to Dudek, Trump's acting commissioner for the Social Security Administration, this requirement is a reason to threaten to halt the safety net program that 71 million Americans rely on for support.

Dudek's comments come as DOGE moves to close dozens of SSA offices, potentially limit phone services, and demand that beneficiaries travel to visit offices in-person to verify their identities " changes that stand to overwhelm the system and prevent seniors and the disabled from receiving their checks.