Two labor unions and a grassroots advocacy group urged the Supreme Court on Monday to leave in place an order by a federal judge in Maryland that temporarily prohibits members of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the records of the Social Security Administration. Lawyers for the groups told the justices that, “in a sudden and striking departure from generations of precedent spanning more than a dozen presidential administrations,” the SSA “now seeks to throw open its data systems to unauthorized (and often unvetted) personnel who have no demonstrated need for the personally identifiable information they seek.”
On May 2, the Trump administration came to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to step in. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices that Hollander’s order “imposes a significant obstacle to executing one of the President’s chief policy initiatives.” Moreover, he contended, the challengers in this case do not have a legal right to bring their lawsuit because they cannot show that their members have been injured by the actions that they seek to block.
In contrast with the government, the groups continued, their members will suffer permanent harm if Hollander’s order is lifted. The “data SSA houses is among the most sensitive in government records, including ‘extensive medical and mental health records’ and family records,” they stressed. And it would be difficult to compensate them once the records are disclosed, they wrote, because “the core harm stems from the invasion of privacy itself.”
Add new comment