In a scathing ruling on Thursday, a federal judge wrote that DOGE “essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion.”

The temporary restraining order is the latest legal setback for the cost-cutting group championed by Elon Musk.

A Maryland federal judge temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing the personal information of potentially hundreds of millions of Americans who receive retirement payments and other benefits from the US government.