type: timeline_event
NPR reported that the Trump administration admitted DOGE employees accessed and shared Americans' sensitive personal Social Security data in multiple ways beyond their legal authority, expanding on earlier DOJ court filing revelations. The report detailed that DOGE team members circumvented IT rules to improperly share data on outside servers, violated a temporary restraining order by restoring data access within 24 hours of court-ordered revocation, and even expanded access beyond what existed before the court order.
The revelations validated whistleblower Chuck Borges' claims that DOGE staffers repeatedly violated internal SSA policies and federal laws, including the Privacy Act which bars federal employees from using government roles for non-work purposes. University of Virginia privacy law professor Danielle Citron stated "If that information is shared willingly and knowingly and they are sharing without the reason they collected it, it's a violation of the Privacy Act." The report noted DOGE employees allegedly sent 1,000 Americans' personal records to one of Elon Musk's top aides and attempted to hand over records to an advocacy group seeking to overturn election results.
Senators demanded details on DOGE's data access following the revelations, with calls for full disclosure to affected individuals and accountability for those who dismissed Borges' warnings. The Government Accountability Project called for an independent forensic audit of all DOGE access to SSA systems. Borges, who resigned in August 2025 alleging retaliation, told NPR "It's disappointing to be proven right" and called the filing "a wake-up call to Congress" to investigate what data was accessed and how it was used. The Social Security Administration acknowledged it discovered DOGE employees secretly and improperly shared sensitive data but repeatedly indicated it still has little knowledge of the full extent of violations.