Marin Scotten / March 6, 2025 Social Security Chief Privately Admits DOGE Will Wreck Things The acting head of the Social Security Administration warned his staff that Elon Musk’s DOGE could make some costly mistakes. “I am relying on longtime career people to inform my work, but I am receiving decisions that are made without my input. I have to effectuate those decisions,” acting Commissioner Leland Dudek said in a staff meeting Tuesday, The Washington Post reported. He described Musk’s cronies as “outsiders who are unfamiliar with nuances of SSA programs,” and warned that their aggressive approach could hurt the some 73 million Americans who receive Social Security benefits, according to meeting notes from the Post. Still, he said Musk’s DOGE minions should be given a chance. “DOGE people are learning, and they will make mistakes, but we have to let them see what is going on at SSA,” he told staff. Dudek has only been acting commissioner for two weeks, and has been open about his views on the “bureaucratic stagnation, inefficiency, and a lack of meaningful service improvements,” at the SSA. Previously a mid-level staffer, Dudek was rewarded the position because he cooperated with DOGE’s demand for information. Trump’s official nominee to run the SSA, Frank Bisigano, is yet to be confirmed by Congress.
I think we deserve to know what Elon’s dog crew is confused about regarding “nuances of SSA programs” so we know what they intend to go fiddling with and maybe stop people’s payments going out.
My letter to reps:
We deserve to know what exactly Elon Musk’s hacker gang crew is doing at Social Security, and what “nuances” they don’t understand that may wind up wrecking things for senior citizens. It’s unacceptable that there aren’t intense scrutiny and investigations on this operation that could crash the economy in some places – close nursing homes, entire apartment complexes, and maybe even entire gated retirement communities, sending elder Americans into homelessness or needing to stay with family who may then have to leave their jobs to care for them. And all because Elon Musk’s hacker kids are maybe just after data and are being careless because they don’t understand “nuances” that even recent mid-level staffer Leland Dudeck recognizes as risky.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose the contents of my letter for your own letters to reps.
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