A divided federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s bid to lift an order blocking the US Social Security Administration from giving the Elon Musk-spearheaded Department of Government Efficiency unfettered access to the data of millions of Americans.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals on a 9-6 vote declined to put on hold an injunction issued by a judge in Maryland who concluded the agency likely violated a federal privacy law by providing DOGE unlimited access to records.
Republican President Donald Trump’s administration could potentially now ask the US Supreme Court to intervene. White House spokesperson Liz Huston in a statement said Trump “will continue to seek all legal remedies available to ensure the will of the American people is executed.”
DOGE has swept through federal agencies as part of an effort by Trump and billionaire ally Musk to root out wasteful spending, slash jobs and dramatically overhaul the federal government.
The injunction at issue was secured by two labor unions and an advocacy group that sued SSA, Musk, DOGE and others in February, seeking to stop DOGE members from accessing some of the agency’s most sensitive data systems.
The SSA, which sends checks to 73 million retired and disabled Americans each month, is seen as a crucial provider of benefits.
Musk has falsely claimed that millions of deceased Americans are still receiving Social Security checks and that the system is rife with fraud. Trump, who has repeatedly pledged not to cut Social Security benefits, has also said it is beset with fraud.
US Circuit Judge Robert King in a concurring opinion on Wednesday said “this highly sensitive personal information has long been handed over to SSA by the American people with every reason to believe that the information would be fiercely protected.”
King, who like the other judges who voted against staying the injunction was appointed by a Democratic president, said that principle “has been flouted by the sudden grant to DOGE of unfettered access to SSA systems of record.”
He said evidence cited by Baltimore-based US District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander in her April 17 decision showed that DOGE had no need for such access, which exceeded that allowed to all but a few experienced and trusted SSA employees.
Six Republican appointees dissented, including US Circuit Judge Julius Richardson, who said the case should have been treated the same as one in which a 2-1 panel of the court allowed DOGE to access data at the US Treasury and Education Departments and the Office of Personnel Management.
But King said the case over Social Security data was “substantially stronger” with “vastly greater stakes.”
The injunction the court left in place also requires DOGE and its affiliates to delete all personally identifiable information from the agency in their possession.
US appeals court will not allow DOGE to access Social Security data
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US appeals court will not allow DOGE to access Social Security data
- DOGE has swept through federal agencies as part of an effort by Trump and billionaire ally Musk to root out wasteful spending, slash jobs and dramatically overhaul the federal government
Kremlin welcomes US sanctions waiver says US and Russia share interest in stable energy markets
DUBAI: Russia sees a U.S. sanctions waiver on its oil as an attempt by Washington to stabilise global energy markets, and the two countries have a shared interest in this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
"We see actions by the United States aimed at trying to stabilise energy markets. In this respect, our interests coincide," he said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a temporary authorisation allowing countries around the world to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea on Thursday extending a measure that had previously been granted only to Indian refiners.
Bessent stressed in a post on X that the authorisation would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.
“This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction,” Bessent said on a post on X.
However, the measure received mix reviews in European capitals, with many fearing it could help replenish Russia's assualt on Ukraine.
"I am concerned that we are further filling Putin's war chest," German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said in Berlin on Friday.
Reiche said that she saw both sides to the United States' decision to issue a 30-day waiver for the purchase of Russian oil products, understanding the increasing ecnomic and political turnout from the oil crisis, particurlarly in South Korea and Japan.
"It seems to me that domestic political pressure in the United States is very, very high," Reiche said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was more direct, saying on Friday that it was wrong to ease sanctions against Russia for whatever reason. The sentiment was echoed by Norway’s Prime Minister, who also said sanctions should not be eased.
Oil prices held gains above $100 Friday and most equity markets dropped after Iran's leader called for the blocking of the crucial Strait of Hormuz and the opening up of new fronts in the war against the United States and Israel.
With the conflict heading towards its third week and showing no signs of ending, investors are growing increasingly worried about an extended crisis that could fan inflation and hammer the global economy.
