J. Scott Applewhite/AP via CNN Newsource
By John Fritze, Tierney Sneed and Tami Luhby
(CNN) — The Supreme Court handed the Department of Government Efficiency a pair of significant wins on Friday, allowing the entity to access sensitive Social Security data for millions of Americans while simultaneously pausing an effort to look into whether it is subject to a key transparency law.
In the first and perhaps more important decision, a majority of the court allowed DOGE to review data at the Social Security Administration in an ostensible effort to rout out fraud and “modernize outdated systems.” Critics and lower courts suggested DOGE was engaged in a fishing expedition through highly sensitive data.
“We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members o