“Musk’s Team Simply Did Not Understand the Data”: Maybe It Wasn’t a Great Idea to Let DOGE Loose on Social Security

While Elon Musk spent a number of months this yr wreaking incalculable havoc around the federal executive, he took a different hobby within the Social Security Administration, the place, because of DOGE’s handiwork, just about part of the company’s senior executives, in addition to hundreds of rank-and-file workers, have left their jobs. At the similar time, DOGE won get right of entry to to the delicate knowledge of tens of millions of other folks, and the prevailing personnel has needed to handle understandably panicked Americans who’re frightened about proceeding to obtain advantages. In March, Musk claimed DOGE’s paintings was once important as a result of fraud on the SSA was once so unhealthy that 40% of the calls to the company’s customer support line had been coming from scammers. But marvel: That wasn’t in truth true, nor had been a lot of different justifications DOGE used to take a sledgehammer to the company.

The New York Times experiences that in a while after Musk made his 40% declare—and after newshounds adopted up with fact-checks—SSA staffers started to prep a correction. Then they were given a choice from Stephen Miller’s spouse, Katie Miller, who insisted, “The number is 40%,” including, “Do not contradict the president,” as Donald Trump believed Musk was once proper—and in an authoritarian regime, the president will get to come to a decision what constitutes truth. But the participants of Musk’s group didn’t simply use untruths to justify their paintings on the Social Security Administration. They extensively utilized their very own lack of ability to investigate knowledge, in addition to huge hubris, to take action.

Per the Times:

…in early February, a DOGE group stationed on the Treasury Department won get right of entry to to the most important federal knowledge: the bills the Treasury processed on behalf of presidency companies. Inside that device, DOGE participants noticed taxpayer finances flowing to those that gave the impression to not have Social Security numbers, consistent with an interior memo seen by way of the Times and other folks briefed on DOGE’s research of the Treasury knowledge. Other recipients gave the look to be lifeless.

None of it was once proof of wrongdoing, Social Security workers would later give an explanation for to DOGE. Mr. Musk’s group merely didn’t perceive the information. But on X, Mr. Musk all of sudden started accusing the company of enabling “massive fraud,” announcing in a flurry of posts beginning Feb. 9 that Social Security bills were going to scammers and “illegals.” At Social Security’s sprawling, Baltimore-area headquarters on Feb. 10, Mr. Musk’s group demanded motion.

Agency mavens carried out “extensive analysis” to provide an explanation for to DOGE that the bills had been, actually, legitimate, however as a result of mentioned mavens had been profession civil servants, they had been it sounds as if to not be depended on, consistent with the Times, which spoke to other folks accustomed to the subject. Instead, Team DOGE requested a 21-year-old DOGE rent to “conduct his own analysis,” which, sure, sounds so much just like the “I do my own research” other folks in relation to whether or not they will have to vaccinate their children. Anyway, the then appearing commissioner driven again on granting get right of entry to to the non-public knowledge of tens of millions of Americans—which might come with SSN numbers, addresses, dates of start, and receive advantages quantities, amongst different issues—however, shocker, she was once quickly “forced out” of the management.

Elsewhere, Musk took to social media in mid-February to indicate that tens of millions of other folks over the age of 120 had been nonetheless being paid Social Security, even though, with uncommon exceptions, the company stops making bills to someone indexed as older than 115. That little element didn’t sway the richest guy on the planet, who as an alternative selected to…waste everybody’s time:

Nonetheless, false notions about lifeless other folks in Social Security’s database all of sudden become a Trump management precedence. In general, a dozen DOGE participants descended at the company. DOGE leaders directed Social Security body of workers to set about marking other folks older than 120 as lifeless, courtroom information display. On social media, Mr. Musk hailed the hassle.

…But an interior memo from DOGE officers…said the cleanup challenge would no longer lend a hand the company do away with the slightly small choice of bills to lifeless other folks, even supposing it will assist anti-fraud efforts at different executive departments that depended on Social Security knowledge. “It will have no impact on benefits,” said the DOGE memo, a replica of which was once reviewed by way of the Times.

As for Musk’s declare that 40% of calls had been coming from scammers? That resulted in a proposed coverage trade through which other folks would not be capable to dossier for advantages or trade account data over the telephone, inflicting freaked-out retirees and other folks with disabilities to descend on overworked, understaffed box places of work. In an interview with the Times this month, Frank Bisignano, who was once showed as SSA commissioner in May, said that the 40% determine was once a fallacy, announcing, “We’re going to be a fact-based, rule-based organization that can count.” Later, the company informed the hole: “The work that DOGE did was 100% accurate.”