US social security agency faces upheaval as Musk-led cost-cutting sparks concern

Elon Musk is leading the Department of Government Efficiency. (File photo/AP)

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is being transformed at lightning speed by the guidance of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Washington Post reported, with deep cuts in jobs and restructuring raising questions about the agency's future. Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek admitted this week that choices are being made without his explicit input, explaining to advocates, "Things are currently operating in a way I have never seen in government before."

Dudek, who took over after secretly feeding information to DOGE, is presiding over a reduction in force that will cut 7,000 jobs—more than 12% of the SSA's employees. Field offices and regional centres are being shut down, entire programs dismantled, and top executives are resigning or being pushed out.

Uncertainty about Social Security's future

Despite US President Donald Trump’s assurances that “we’re not touching Social Security,” Musk has repeatedly called the system “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” Concerns are mounting over whether Americans’ earned benefits could be jeopardized. Musk-aligned tech engineers have gained access to taxpayer databases, fuelling speculation that cost-cutting efforts may extend to broader program changes beyond fraud prevention.

In his congressional speech, Trump also repeated allegations of mass fraud by the SSA despite earlier reports falsifying Musk's claims that benefits were being distributed to centenarians. The administration's pursuit of lowering SSA's budget, already the government's largest payment of benefits totalling $126 billion monthly, has created apprehension that the system is being prepared for privatisation.

Staff morale and operational dysfunction

SSA workers have reported increasing chaos as budget reductions cut into operations. A spending freeze imposed by DOGE has impeded the agency's capacity to fund disability hearings, interpreter services, and even office supplies. Supervisors have been hard-pressed to accommodate rapidly shifting instructions, and field offices have been compelled to consolidate workloads that exceed their capabilities.

Compounding the uncertainty, Dudek has made press releases boasting of efforts to detect supposed fraudulent payments, echoing Trump's rhetoric on Social Security waste. Watchdog reports, however, indicate that reported fraud represents fewer than 1% of program expenditures. Exaggerating fraud rates, critics say, is a harbinger of larger benefit cuts.

Political pushback mounts

Democrats have largely rejected the reductions, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer threatening that "Social Security is under attack and at risk." Former SSA Commissioner Martin O'Malley estimated that absent intervention, disruption to services may cause delays to benefits within the next 30 to 90 days.

Even some Republicans have spoken quietly in discomfort at Dudek's quick remake. With Trump's permanent SSA leader nominee, Frank Bisignano, pending Senate approval, the question is still whether the agency's revolution at the hands of Musk will keep going unabated.

While staff grapple with gridlock on the job and legislators prepare for more change ahead, the future of Social Security hangs in the balance during one of the most ambitious attempts to cut costs in its history.