The newly formed Department of Government Efficiency’s control of Social Security data could potentially harm millions of Americans, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress.
The nonpartisan policy institute found that Americans’ private Social Security data could be stolen, distorted, or even actively used against them under the Trump administration.
Newsweek reached out to the SSA and DOGE via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Soon after President Donald Trump reentered the White House, he created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to eliminate waste and fraud in the federal government. The task force, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, has so far recommended laying off more than 200,000 federal workers. Around 75,000 workers have also voluntarily resigned.
DOGE is also looking into data from the Social Security Administration, but some people have concerns about how this data will be used by the department.
What To Know
While millions of Americans rely on Social Security for retirement benefits, the SSA has been collecting data on Americans since they were born.
This includes your Social Security number, lifetime earnings, immigration status, and other personal information. These records are typically used by the government alongside life insurance companies and creditors.
For the 67 million Americans currently receiving benefits, the SSA also likely knows their banking information since most recipients opt for direct deposit payments.
Since DOGE was created, the agency has been fighting for access to all of the data as part of its cost-cutting efforts. However, some SSA workers have been concerned about how the data could be used or manipulated under DOGE’s hands.
“SSA provided members of the SSA DOGE Team with unbridled access to the personal and private data of millions of Americans [despite having] never identified or articulated even a single reason for which the DOGE Team needs unlimited access to SSA’s entire record systems,” a federal court opinion of the situation summarized in March.
Last month, District Court Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander issued a temporary restraining order preventing SSA officials from giving DOGE officials access to SSA systems that contain personally identifiable information.
Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek has threatened to shut down the agency since then, and DOGE employees have continued to pressure the SSA for access to the data, according to The Washington Post.
DOGE has also so far used SSA data to incorrectly mark more than 6,000 immigrants as “dead” in their records.
There are also concerns that AI tools created by Musk could gain an unfair advantage if they were trained on the data the SSA has, according to the Center for American Progress.
“Americans deserve to know that the sensitive information they have entrusted to the Social Security Administration won’t be exploited or exposed. They deserve to know that their government won’t manipulate and distort records to do them harm or pursue political payback,” senior fellow Molly Weston Williamson wrote.
“Generations of Americans have known the Social Security Administration as honest stewards of their most private information as well as steadfast providers of the retirement and disability benefits that sustain them. In a few short months, the Trump administration has shattered trust that took decades to earn—trust that, unless DOGE’s ransacking of Social Security ends and those who perpetrated it are held accountable, may never be regained.”
DOGE has said it’s saved $160 billion in tax dollars by targeting waste and fraud across federal agencies. That amounts to roughly $993 per taxpayer on average.
What People Are Saying
Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: “As an American, we would hope they use the information to make the systems more efficient, but we all know hope is a terrible strategy especially after someone gains control. It is as if we are living in a real-life mission impossible movie where a villain threatens the entire world by gaining control over the financial data of every human using ‘God’s eye.’ Although it seems like a science fiction movie, it is becoming closer to reality each day.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “Research has told us over the years Americans overwhelmingly don’t support government waste and feel more should be done to tackle situations of fraud and abuse that go on with federal funding. At the same point, when there’s a new entity seeking to obtain protected information, it’s going to generate plenty of concern.”
What Happens Next
Already, thousands of Americans have been mistakenly declared dead by the SSA as DOGE takes on new control.
DOGE said last week that it continues to update SSA records, writing on X, formerly Twitter: “For the past 7 weeks, @SocialSecurity has been executing a major cleanup of their records. Approximately 11 million numberholders, all listed age 120+, have now been marked deceased.”Another ~2 million to go.”
As the SSA has also cut 7,000 jobs under Trump’s administration, some Americans are concerned about how these changes could affect benefits over time.
“Even if DOGE’s objective of seeking to eliminate waste from Social Security may align with that of many taxpayers, they’re rightfully worried over a new entity being handed that access with little oversight and no public plan to demonstrate information will remain protected,” Beene said.
“Americans need more documented assurance this is the right strategy.”
The post DOGE’s Control of SSA Data Could Harm Millions of Americans: Report appeared first on Newsweek.
