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The advisory group known as the Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has moved quickly to curb government spending at federal agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
At a rally Monday outside the Social Security Administration’s Maryland headquarters, lawmakers and advocates warned that the federal agency responsible for benefits for 72.5 million Americans could be among DOGE’s next targets.
“Keep your hands off our Social Security, because this has nothing, nothing to do with government efficiency,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said at the rally.
DOGE has launched plans to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development and has told staffers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop work until further notice.
The next target may be the Department of Education, Van Hollen said, followed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and then the Social Security Administration.
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Social Security is one of the “most important social programs of our lifetime,” with Americans working for years to qualify for benefits, said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md.
“It is America’s promise to us when we paid into Social Security,” Alsobrooks said. “And yet this is under attack even today.”
During his campaign, President Donald Trump repeatedly promised that he would not touch Social Security benefits. He reiterated that promise last week, according to reports, while also alleging that illegal immigrants are committing benefit fraud.
“The president remains committed to his promise not to touch [Social Security],” while also doubling down on his promise to end taxation of benefits, a White House official said in an emailed statement to CNBC. “Any work from DOGE is to find fraud, which they’ve successfully done,” the official wrote, without providing evidence of any fraud.
Massive budget cuts make Social Security a target
Because DOGE has been tasked with executing massive spending cuts, experts say it will be difficult to avoid Social Security.
“When you’re tasked with cutting $2 trillion and 70% of the federal budget is comprised of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Defense, then you know that they’re going to continue to go after this,” said Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., during a Sunday town hall with constituents. “We’re going to resist them.”
Lawmakers in red states may also push back, given how their constituents may negatively react to any changes, Larson said.
The Social Security Administration has “historically struggled to provide essential services in a timely manner,” a group of Democratic senators recently said in a letter to the Office of Personnel Management, with long waits to reach the agency by phone and for determinations on disability benefits.
According to the latest projections from the Social Security Trustees, the trust fund used to pay retirement benefits is projected to be depleted around 2033 if no legislative action is taken to address the issue. If Congress doesn’t act by 2033, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 79% of scheduled benefits.
Any attempts by the Trump administration to make changes may be met with litigation.
A federal judge has temporarily stopped Musk and other DOGE team members from accessing Treasury Department systems and data, which had prompted worries that sensitive information involving Social Security numbers and tax information may be compromised. The Trump administration has filed a motion to vacate a restraining order prohibiting DOGE access to Treasury payment systems. Musk has called for the judge in that case to be impeached.
New moves ‘put people’s data at risk,’ expert says
While DOGE has access to the Treasury Department system, the concern is they may also have access to Social Security Administration data including Social Security numbers, direct deposit accounts and personal addresses, said Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former Social Security Administration employee.
In a statement to members of Congress last week, the Treasury Department sought to reassure lawmakers that DOGE will have “read-only” access to data.
“Treasury is committed to safeguarding the integrity and security of the system, given the implications of any compromise or disruption to the U.S. economy,” a Treasury official wrote in a letter to members of Congress. “The Fiscal Service is confident those protections are robust and effective.”
The White House did not respond to CNBC’s request for further comment.
Nevertheless, Romig said there is the potential for new processes to put people’s data at risk “in major and very scary ways.”
“SSA has never had a data breach, and that’s because they have it so incredibly secure,” Romig said.
But with reports of DOGE using external servers and temporary employees without security clearances, that could put that sensitive information at risk, she said.
Other prospective budget cuts could also negatively impact Social Security, Romig said.
For example, if DOGE’s plans to cut federal leases impact the agency, that may leave Social Security beneficiaries without access to field offices, she said. Moreover, efforts to cut federal employees may hurt the agency as it already faces staffing issues.