A judge blocked the Social Security Administration from using the SAVE database to verify eligibility for payments on June 22.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 75%
Badlands MediaOct 21, 2026
Multiple sources, including a court opinion, confirm that on June 22, 2026, Judge Sparkle Sooknanan set aside and blocked the modified SAVE database, which pulled in Social Security data.
What was said
… I just like to to roll through the, the very quickly, because you don't have the story. The Social Security dates: They started in April. April 10th, they started assessing which agencies verify identities and eligibility before issuing payments. In June 22, a judge blocked them, right? So that's the whole SAVE database and everything, and they've been had to fight in court all over the summer. The appellate court in the D.C. Circuit denied their appeal to allow them to continue using the SAVE database and verifying the eligibility of the people receiving Social Security. …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. A federal court opinion states that on June 22, 2026, the court set aside the establishment of the modified SAVE database and its System of Records Notices, which authorized disclosures from SSA's central file used to operate it.[2]
Supports. Politico and CBS News both report that U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocked the Trump administration's overhauled SAVE database on June 22, 2026, ruling it violated federal privacy and administrative law.[3][4]
Supports. Reuters reports that Judge Sooknanan's June 22 decision halted use of the revamped database, which contains Social Security numbers and citizenship data, and that the Supreme Court later stayed that ruling on September 25.[1][5]
Context. Sources describe the block as covering the government's use of the database generally, and the 'for payments' framing in the claim is not addressed directly by any source; the ruling is framed around voter-roll checks, not benefit payments.[6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 2 tier 2, 3 not rated
- 1US judge orders four states be given access to citizenship ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Case 1:25-cv-03501-SLS Document 123 Filed 07/08/26 ...govinfo.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Judge blocks Trump admin’s database of Americans’ Social ...politico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Judge blocks Trump administration's overhauled database ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5U.S. Supreme Court allows use of expanded SAVE system ahead ...news.ballotpedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration From Using Social Security Data For Voter Roll Purgesnbcpalmsprings.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Federal judges clash over DHS SAVE database for voter ...washingtonexaminer.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The D.C. Circuit appellate court denied an appeal to allow the Social Security Administration to continue using the SAVE database for eligibility verification.True
- The Social Security Administration lifted the block on using the SAVE database on September 25.Mixed
- In June 2026, Judge Sukhnanan ruled for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the SAVE system.True
- Judge T. Kent Wetherell II issued an injunction requiring the Department of Homeland Security to provide Modified SAVE to Florida, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa.True
- A federal judge in D.C. found in June that the SAVE system violated federal privacy laws and that the Department of Homeland Security had overstepped its authority.True