International
Social Security Acting Chief Resigns After Clash with Musk’s DOGE
- SSA acting commissioner Michelle King resigns after refusing to share recipient data with DOGE.
- King steps down after 30+ years of service, citing privacy concerns over sensitive information.
- White House appoints SSA official Leland Dudek as interim replacement.
The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner, Michelle King, has stepped down following a dispute over requests from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access Social Security recipient information, according to sources familiar with the matter.
King, who had served the agency for over 30 years, resigned over the weekend after refusing to grant DOGE staffers access to sensitive data, the sources said on Monday.
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The White House has appointed Leland Dudek, a current SSA official, as her replacement.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields released a statement Monday night saying: “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.”
Fields added, “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.”
King’s departure is part of a wave of resignations from senior officials alarmed by DOGE staffers’ potential unauthorised access to sensitive taxpayer data.
The department has already tapped into Treasury payment systems and is now attempting to gain entry into Internal Revenue Service databases.
Since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, his billionaire adviser Elon Musk has embedded himself within federal agencies through DOGE, operating with minimal public oversight.
Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for protecting Social Security benefits, warned, “There is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is. And my understanding is that it has already occurred.”
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“The information collected and securely held by the Social Security Administration is highly sensitive,” she said. “SSA has data on everyone who has a Social Security number, which is virtually all Americans, everyone who has Medicare, and every low-income American who has applied for Social Security’s means-tested companion program, Supplemental Security Income.”
“If there is an evil intent to punish perceived enemies, someone could erase your earnings record, making it impossible to collect the Social Security and Medicare benefits you have earned.”
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