The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) resigned over the weekend following a dispute with Elon Musk’s US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) regarding access to sensitive government records, according to three individuals familiar with the situation.
Dispute over government data access
Michelle King, a longtime SSA official who had served as acting commissioner for just a month, stepped down Sunday after refusing to grant Musk’s associates access to highly confidential Social Security records. In her place, President Donald Trump appointed Leland Dudek, a senior official from SSA’s anti-fraud office, as acting commissioner while the administration awaits Senate confirmation of Trump’s nominee, Frank Bisignano.
The White House defended its decision, with spokesman Harrison Fields stating that Trump is committed to appointing officials who will prioritize eliminating inefficiencies over maintaining bureaucratic norms. Dudek’s appointment bypassed several senior officials in the SSA, raising concerns about political interference in the agency’s leadership.
Concerns over Social Security integrity
The SSA is responsible for administering pension and disability benefits for over 70 million Americans. It maintains vast amounts of personal data, including Social Security numbers, earnings histories, and banking details. The precise nature of the records DOGE sought access to remains unclear, but the push aligns with broader efforts by Musk’s team to obtain financial and employment data across multiple agencies.
Federal officials and watchdogs have raised alarms about the potential misuse of sensitive records. Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, cited internal conversations indicating that King was dismissed for resisting DOGE’s data access requests. “There is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is,” Altman warned.
Growing pattern of data access disputes
Musk’s associates have aggressively pursued access to classified or restricted government records across multiple federal departments. Recent reports revealed DOGE’s efforts to obtain sensitive taxpayer information from the Internal Revenue Service and financial transaction data from the Treasury Department. The highest-ranking civil servant at Treasury resigned after refusing to grant DOGE access to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which manages over $5 trillion in payments annually.
Despite these concerns, White House officials have insisted that DOGE’s primary objective is uncovering fraud and eliminating wasteful spending. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed fears about Social Security payments being at risk, arguing that Musk’s efforts are solely focused on rooting out inefficiencies.
Political implications and agency fallout
King’s departure underscores the mounting tensions between career civil servants and Trump’s administration over access to government data. Martin O’Malley, the former SSA commissioner under Biden, criticized the decision, warning that bypassing senior career officials could disrupt Social Security benefits.
With Trump’s government-wide reclassification efforts aiming to convert nonpolitical roles into presidentially appointed positions, many fear that agencies traditionally shielded from political interference, such as the SSA, could see long-term structural instability.
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