Senator Elizabeth Warren has said people in Massachusetts have been marked as not receiving Social Security benefits as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) investigations continue at the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Why It Matters
Some 70 million Americans receive benefits from the SSA every month. But recent actions by DOGE, which is headed by tech billionaire and White House adviser Elon Musk, have prompted warnings that benefits may be interrupted.
What To Know
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Warren said: “I’m hearing from Social Security recipients in MA who’ve been marked as ‘not currently receiving payments,’ on the Social Security website.”
Newsweek has been unable to independently verify these claims, and has contacted Senator Warren and the SSA for clarification and comment via email outside of regular working hours.
DOGE has been tasked with streamlining government and reducing fraud and wasteful spending on the direction of President Donald Trump. The nonofficial government department entered the SSA in February, a move that has been highly controversial.
So far, DOGE’s work has prompted the reduction of the SSA’s workforce, changes to identity proofing requirements, and large-scale revisions of the federal agency’s database.
These actions have resulted in heavy criticism, particularly from Democrats and former SSA officials. Warren, along with several other Senate Democrats, has launched a “war room” to tackle the DOGE changes.
Warren is not the first to warn against the impact that DOGE may be having on benefit disbursement. Martin O’Malley, former commissioner under the last President Joe Biden, has said the Trump administration is “gutting” the agency, and that “benefit interruptions” are likely in the coming months.
What People Are Saying
Warren said on X: “Social Security is something you are legally entitled to. Elon’s attack on Social Security is illegal—and it’s hurting people.”
Elon Musk said from the KI Convention Center on March 30 in Green Bay, Wisconsin: “DOGE will make sure you get your Social Security, DOGE will make sure you get your Medicaid. There will be no cuts to legitimate payments, whatsoever.”
O’Malley told the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on Tuesday, April 1: “The Trump co-presidency is gutting this agency. It is breaking it from within, and it ultimately will lead to cascading failures, interruptions and system shutdowns that will, eventually and I think within the next couple of months, lead to benefit interruptions for the first time in 90 years.”
What Happens Next
Social Security payments are made monthly, with the next payment date being April 9.
Are you a Social Security recipient and have not received your allocated benefits since the Trump administration began? Email [email protected].
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