The Justice Department confirmed in a January 2026 court filing that employees involved in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative improperly accessed and shared sensitive Social Security data. This disclosure detailed unauthorized coordination with a political advocacy group regarding voter data analysis and included referrals for potential Hatch Act violations. These revelations occurred amid ongoing litigation concerning DOGE's access to Social Security Administration (SSA) systems and have been followed by recent whistleblower allegations regarding a former DOGE staffer's alleged retention of extensive sensitive databases, prompting ongoing investigations and calls for accountability.
Disclosure of Data Misuse and Political Coordination
On January 16, 2026, the Justice Department filed a corrected court document acknowledging additional instances of improper access and sharing of sensitive personal data by staffers involved in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort, an initiative operating under the Trump administration. The Social Security Administration (SSA) confirmed discovering that DOGE employees within the agency secretly shared sensitive personal data in 2025 and stated it could not verify the full extent of these violations.
The filing detailed that two SSA DOGE employees were referred to a federal watchdog, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, in December 2025 for potential violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from using their positions for political activities.
Unauthorized "Voter Data Agreement"
The Justice Department filing revealed that in March 2025, two members of SSA's DOGE team were contacted by a political advocacy group. This group, later identified as True the Vote, had publicly requested DOGE investigate voter registration systems nationwide and sought to analyze state voter rolls with the stated aim of finding evidence of voter fraud and challenging election results in specific states.
On March 24, 2025, one DOGE team member signed a "Voter Data Agreement" in their capacity as an SSA employee and sent it to the advocacy group. Email communications suggest that DOGE team members may have been asked to assist by accessing SSA data for matching with voter rolls.
The SSA stated it has not found proof that its data was shared with the advocacy group, nor is there evidence that SSA employees outside the involved DOGE team members were aware of these communications or the agreement until November 2025, when the agency discovered it during an unrelated review. The agreement was not reviewed or approved through the agency’s data exchange procedures.
Procedural Breaches and Data Security Concerns
The disclosures included details of security failures and procedural breaches:
- DOGE team members reportedly utilized unapproved third-party servers, such as Cloudflare, for data sharing. The SSA stated it has been unable to ascertain what information was transmitted or whether it remains on these servers, raising concerns about potential data exposure.
- In one instance, a DOGE staffer sent an encrypted, password-protected file to Steve Davis, a senior adviser to the DOGE operation. The SSA believes this file contained the names and addresses of approximately 1,000 individuals derived from social security systems, though its contents could not be confirmed.
- The filing indicated that actions taken by the then-SSA DOGE Team were potentially outside SSA policy and/or noncompliant with a temporary restraining order issued by a District Court on March 20, 2025. One DOGE team member conducted searches of personally identifiable information on the morning of March 24, even after the agency believed it had revoked all such access, with full access terminated by noon that day.
- The filing also disclosed that DOGE members had been granted access to several systems beyond what the agency had previously reported, including employee records, personnel access information, and shared workspaces allowing data exchange.
These statements from the Justice Department and SSA represent a change from previous assertions by social security officials, who had consistently stated there was no evidence that DOGE had compromised personal data and that the agency possessed IT safeguards to prevent such issues.
Litigation Context and DOGE's Findings
The disclosures occurred amid ongoing litigation concerning DOGE’s access to SSA systems. A federal judge had previously issued a temporary injunction on March 20, 2025, barring DOGE access to sensitive information. This restriction was later lifted by the Supreme Court, which allowed DOGE access to SSA data. Arguments regarding the reinstatement of that injunction were heard by the 4th Circuit in September 2025, with a decision pending.
DOGE was launched with aims to identify widespread social security fraud within retirement and disability programs. However, according to the filings, the initiative did not ultimately identify any such fraud.
Whistleblower Allegations and Further Investigations
Separate investigations have been initiated by an internal government watchdog and members of Congress following new allegations concerning the potential misuse of sensitive Social Security data. On March 6, the SSA's inspector general informed congressional committees of a review regarding an anonymous complaint.
Congressional Democrats expanded their probe following whistleblower information alleging a former DOGE software engineer claimed to have retained copies of sensitive databases containing personal information for nearly all living Americans. Key claims from this whistleblower include:
- The former DOGE employee allegedly held at least one database on a personal thumb drive.
- The individual claimed "God-level" access to SSA systems.
- The former staffer allegedly expressed intent to share the data with their private-sector employer.
The databases allegedly retained include NUMIDENT, which contains sensitive records for almost every American (Social Security numbers, dates of birth, places of birth, and parents' names), and the Death Master File.
An SSA spokesperson disputed these specific whistleblower claims in an email, stating they have been "strongly refuted by all named parties – SSA, the former employee, and the company." The SSA Office of the Inspector General declined to comment, citing policy regarding law enforcement investigations.
Charles Borges, a former chief data officer at SSA who previously filed a whistleblower disclosure in August regarding DOGE's data handling, characterized the new allegations, if true, as having:
"generational consequences" and representing a "structural failure of our identity system."
Calls for Accountability
Congressional Democrats, including Representatives John Larson, Richard Neal, and Robert Garcia, have called for full investigations and accountability for any alleged wrongdoing.
Representatives Larson and Neal stated that the DOGE appointees involved "must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for these abhorrent violations of the public trust."
Senator Ron Wyden also called for a "full public accounting" of the alleged breach and accountability.