Acting Social Security Commissioner Out After 'Clash' with DOGE
The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration reportedly left her position over the weekend after clashing with representatives of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Michelle King protested DOGE having access to what she determined to be sensitive government records, according to three people familiar with her departure, The Washington Post reported.
BREAKING: Michelle King, Acting head of the Social Security Administration RESIGNS after dispute with DOGE staff – NYP
Yesterday Elon Musk revealed there were nearly 20 million dead people on the Social Security database pic.twitter.com/lqcjEqwQwx
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 18, 2025
To fill King’s spot, “President Donald Trump appointed Leland Dudek, a manager in charge of Social Security’s anti-fraud office, as acting commissioner while Frank Bisignano, the president’s nominee for permanent commissioner, is vetted by the Senate, according to three individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly,” the Post said.
White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement to the news outlet, “President Trump has nominated the highly qualified and talented Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration, and we expect him to be swiftly confirmed in the coming weeks.
“In the meantime, the agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner. President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long,” Fields added.
Nancy Altman, president of the left-leaning Social Security Works, said, based on conversations with several current SSA officials, that King was replaced because she would not give the DOGE team access to the files they requested.
The SSA records include Social Security numbers, medical records for those who have applied for disability benefits, as well as bank and earnings information, Altman noted.
“There is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is,” she contended.
CNN reported that about 72.5 million Americans received Social Security benefits, which includes retirees, disabled people, and children.
In fiscal year 2023, Social Security made up $1.3 trillion of the $6.1 trillion spent by the federal government, making it the single largest line item of the budget, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Elon Musk, who has been overseeing the DOGE effort, believes the SSA is rife with fraud.
He posted Sunday on social media platform X that his team discovered the agency’s database lists approximately 16 million people whose ages are 110 or greater. That figure reached over 20 million if those 100 to 109 are added.
The findings include over 1.3 million people between the ages of 150 and 159, nearly 122,000 between the ages of 160 and 169, and over 6,000 between the ages of 170 and 179.
According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!
Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ltb06VX98Z
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
Musk wrote, “There are FAR more ‘eligible’ social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA. This might be the biggest fraud in history.”
Yes, there are FAR more “eligible” social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA.
This might be the biggest fraud in history.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the concerns raised about DOGE access to sensitive government records on the Fox News program “Hannity” Monday night.
“Now you see the Democrat Party and the mainstream media spiraling out of control about a very simple promise: rooting out waste, fraud and abuse from our federal bureaucracy,” she said. “This is a promise President Trump campaigned on. He is now delivering on it.”
For decades, leaders in America have pledged to address the rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in our federal government – only to end up doing nothing while watching the crisis grow even worse.
But where others failed – President Trump is delivering.
Major reforms are underway! pic.twitter.com/9YsOsPh3Rq
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 18, 2025
“President Trump has directed Elon Musk and the DOGE team to identify fraud at the Social Security Administration. They haven’t dug into the books yet, but they suspect that there are tens of millions of deceased people who are receiving fraudulent Social Security payments,” she continued.
Leavitt said the DOGE Social Security audit has three objectives.
First, identify duplicate payments and end them. Next, find payments going to those who are deceased, and finally protect the integrity of the system for those who are eligible.
Leavitt concluded, “Rest assured … if you paid into the system honestly, you will continue to receive your Social Security checks. Do not buy into the lies from the legacy fake-news media who are trying to fear you and scare you into believing otherwise.”
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