A federal judge blocked the agency from granting personnel affiliated with DOGE access to agency systems containing personally identifiable information.

The acting head of the Social Security Administration retreated from his threat to shut down the office after a federal judge said an order restricting data access for Elon Musk and his cost-cutting team doesn’t apply to agency employees.

Leland Dudek argues that a ruling blocking Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team from access to sensitive taxpayer data could apply to all employees.