- The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner recently acknowledged that "DOGE people are learning and they will make mistakes, but we have to let them see what is going on at SSA," according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, the report added that cuts to staff, spending and operating systems are already delaying the processing of claims.
Acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Leland Dudek privately admitted that Elon Musk's team of cost-cutters will trip up, sources told the Washington Post.
In a meeting Tuesday with senior staff, legal-aid attorneys, and advocates, the agency's interim chief acknowledged that the Department of Government Efficiency are "outsiders who are unfamiliar with nuances of SSA programs," according to the report, which cited detailed notes taken by someone at the meeting.
"DOGE people are learning and they will make mistakes, but we have to let them see what is going on at SSA," Dudek said. "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."
The Social Security Administration didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump has vowed not to cut benefits but has claimed massive fraud. Musk also raised concerns about his plans for the safety net after he said tens of millions of dead Americans are receiving Social Security checks—a claim the Associated Press debunked.
And last week, he added to fears when he called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” and described the federal government as “one big pyramid scheme.”
In a separate message to SSA staff obtained by the Post, Dudek said the agency has been operating on autopilot for too long, creating inefficiencies.
“We have spent billions annually doing the same things the same way leading to bureaucratic stagnation, inefficiency, and a lack of meaningful service improvements. It is time to change that," he wrote last Saturday, adding that the agency would outsource "nonessential functions to industry experts."
Dudek plans to cut 7,000 jobs as part of the Trump administration’s broader push across the federal government to slash staffing levels and trim costs. But SSA has already seen a number of departures at senior levels, including regional commissioners and top leadership.
Meanwhile, Trump's nominee to lead the agency, Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano, awaits Senate confirmation.
SSA employees told the Post that DOGE-led cuts to staff, spending and operating systems are already sowing chaos and delaying the processing of claims, including reviews of disability claims and hearings before administrative law judges.
In addition, wait times for customer service on phones lines have grown to hours with one regional office forced to take calls from two-thirds of Indiana. Handling all the calls means staff haven't been able to process retirement claims, according to the report.
And DOGE's spending freeze on government credit cards has prevented some offices from paying their phone bills.
The US DOGE Service didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It’s just chaos, people are terrified, and no one knows anything, including our supervisors,” one employee told the Post, while another worker with 30 years of experience warned, "No one really knows what they’re doing, no one has answers, and at some point, something is going to break."
Of particular concern is the 65-year-old programming language known as COBOL, which is used at SSA and at other federal agencies.
COBOL is no longer taught to recent engineering hires at SSA, sources told CNN, and long-tenured IT staff with experience dealing with the fragile system—as well as the numerous software workarounds that keep it running—are at retirement age.
Former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley, who headed the agency during the Biden administration, told CNBC last week that cuts have already led to IT outages, which he predicted will become more frequent and last longer each time until there’s a total failure.
“Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits. I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days," he said, adding that “people should start saving now” before payments stop.
Charles Blahous, a senior research strategist at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and a former public trustee for Social Security, told Fortune on Monday it’s unclear whether the SSA staff cuts are more likely to result in an interruption of benefits or an increase in improper payments.
That’s because claims for Social Security disability payments involve more hands-on work compared to retirement benefits, which are more efficient, he explained.
“It’s not obvious to me where the choke point will be,” Blahous said in an email. “If the reduced staff err on the side of making sure all claims are processed, improper payments will likely rise. If instead the reduced staff prioritizes preventing improper payments, the risk of processing delays would increase.”
