A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Thursday blocking Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing millions of Americans’ records held by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander, an Obama appointee, ruled in favor of unions and advocacy groups, citing privacy concerns over government access. The Trump administration argued the data was key to uncovering fraud and abuse.
DOGE had already flagged over 7 million individuals listed as 120+ as deceased. Musk posted on X that the SSA database showed millions marked over 100 with active statuses, joking about “vampires” collecting benefits.
A chart shared by Musk suggested implausibly high numbers, with millions listed in age ranges from 130 to 159. The 2020 Census reported only about 80,000 Americans aged 100 or older, highlighting significant inconsistencies in the SSA’s data and raising concerns over potential fraud.
