The Social Security Administration (SSA) acting commissioner has resigned over a dispute regarding alleged Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) requests to access Social Security recipient information.
Why It Matters
Since President Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20, a number of federal government agencies have been vetted by DOGE in an apparent effort to streamline processes and cut spending. But the efforts, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, have created concerns among lawmakers and government employees over access to personal information.
What To Know
Michelle King, who has held the position of acting commissioner since January and has worked for the government agency for more than 30 years, stepped down following a dispute about DOGE staffers' potentially unlawful access to private taxpayer information.
The SSA oversees benefit disbursements for over 70 million people and handles extensive amounts of personal information, including details about individuals' employment and earnings history, as well as their residential addresses.
According to a report by The Associated Press, King refused to provide DOGE staffers at the SSA with access to sensitive information. DOGE has reportedly accessed systems at other agencies, including the Treasury Department.
There have been growing worries over DOGE access to SSA systems, mainly from Democratic lawmakers and the former SSA commissioner Martin O'Malley, who has expressed concern that the delivery of benefits could be interrupted.
Musk reported on X, formerly Twitter, last week that he is "100% certain that the magnitude of the fraud in federal entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, etc) exceeds the combined sum of every private scam you've ever heard by FAR."
Who Is Michelle King?
King has worked for the SSA since 1994, beginning her career with the federal agency as a bilingual claims representative.
Immediately prior to being appointed acting commissioner, she was Deputy Commissioner for Operations, and was responsible for overseeing SSA field and disability determination offices, call centers and other associated services.
"In this role, Michelle leads a workforce of approximately 58,000 employees and provides oversight for the programs and services the agency administers," her profile on the SSA website reads.
In 2023, King was awarded the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award for "sustained, exceptional performance," her SSA profile reads.
What People Are Saying
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."
Martin O'Malley, the SSA commissioner during the Biden administration, said: "At this rate, they will break it. And they will break it fast, and there will be an interruption of benefits.
"To pick an acting commissioner that is not in the senior executive service sends a message that professional people should leave that beleaguered public agency."
Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the preservation of Social Security benefits, said: "The information collected and securely held by the Social Security Administration is highly sensitive. 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."
Elon Musk said on X on February 17: "I love the people. We just want to fix the waste and fraud that is bankrupting the country. The scrutiny on me is extreme, so it's not like I could 'get away' with something, nor do I have any incentive to do so."
What's Next
As the White House has confirmed, Bisignano is expected to be confirmed by the Senate in the coming weeks. Leland Dudek, a manager in charge of Social Security's anti-fraud office, has been appointed as acting commissioner in the interim.
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About the writer
Aliss Higham is a Newsweek reporter based in Glasgow, Scotland. Her focus is reporting on issues across the U.S., including ... Read more