The Untold Story

      Pro Publica has a fascinating piece titled The Untold Story of What Happened When DOGE Stormed Social Security. You’ll want to read the entire article. Here are just a few snippets:

On Feb. 10, on the third floor of the Social Security Administration’s Baltimore-area headquarters, Leland Dudek unfurled a 4-foot-wide roll of paper that extended to 20 feet in length. It was a visual guide that the agency had kept for years to explain Social Security’s many technological systems and processes. The paper was covered in flow charts, arrows and text so minuscule you almost needed a magnifying glass to read it. Dudek called it Social Security’s “Dead Sea Scroll.” …

DOGE was already terrifying the federal bureaucracy with the prospect of mass job loss and intrusions into previously sacrosanct databases. Still, Dudek and a handful of his tech-oriented colleagues were hopeful: If any agency needed a dose of efficiency, it was theirs. “There was kind of an excitement, actually,” a longtime top agency official said. “I’d spent 29 years trying to use technology and data in ways that the agency would never get around to.” …

DOGE, billed as a squad of crack technologists, seemed perfectly designed to overcome such obstacles. And its young members were initially inquisitive about how Social Security worked and what most needed fixing. Several times over those first few days, Akash Bobba, a 21-year-old coder who’d been the first of them to arrive, held his face close to Dudek’s scroll, tracing connections between the agency’s venerable IT systems with his index finger. Bobba asked: “Who would know about this part of the architecture?” 

Before long, though, he and the other DOGErs buried their heads in their laptops and plugged in their headphones. Their senior leaders had already written out goals on a whiteboard. At the top: Find fraud. Quickly. 

Dudek’s scroll was forgotten. The heavy paper started to unpeel from the wall, and it eventually sagged to the floor. … 

In 15 hours of interviews with ProPublica, Dudek described the chaos of working with DOGE and how he tried first to collaborate, and then to protect the agency, resulting in turns that were at various times alarming, confounding and tragicomic. 

DOGE, he said, began acting like “a bunch of people who didn’t know what they were doing, with ideas of how government should run — thinking it should work like a McDonald’s or a bank — screaming all the time.” … 

Inside the SSA, the DOGE team tried to find proof of the fraud that Musk and Trump had proclaimed, but it didn’t seem to know how to go about it, jumping from tactic to tactic. “It was a maelstrom of topic A to topic G to topic C to topic Q,” said a senior SSA official who was in the room. “Were we still helping anything by explaining stuff?” the official said. “It really wasn’t clear by that point.” … 

[Behind] the scenes, [Dudek] began to undermine DOGE however he could. Sometimes he did this by making intemperate statements that he knew would find their way into the press and draw attention to what DOGE was asking him to do. … 

As commissioner, he was often an anonymous source for articles in The Washington Post and The New York Times. “If it was stupid stuff from the DOGE team, a lot of times I would go out to the press and immediately tattletale on myself so that it would blow up the next day,” Dudek said, adding that he did this in part to help Social Security advocates understand and bring attention to the growing crisis at the agency. …

Big NYT Article On DOGE, Dudek And Social Security

      From the New York Times:

Elon Musk stood before a giant American flag at a Wisconsin political rally in March and rolled out an eye-popping allegation of rampant fraud at the Social Security Administration. Scammers, he said, were making 40 percent of all calls to the agency’s customer service line.

Social Security employees knew the billionaire’s claim had no basis in fact. After journalists followed up, staff members began drafting a response correcting the record.

That’s when Leland Dudek — plucked from a midlevel job only six weeks earlier to run Social Security because of his willingness to cooperate with Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — got an angry call from the White House, according to several people familiar with the exchange.

“The number is 40 percent,” insisted Katie Miller, a top administration aide who was working closely with Mr. Musk, according to one of the people familiar with the April 1 call. President Trump believed Mr. Musk, she said. “Do not contradict the president.” 

Throughout the early months of this Trump presidency, Mr. Musk and his allies systematically built a false narrative of widespread fraud at the Social Security Administration based on misinterpreted data, using their claims to justify an aggressive effort to gain access to personal information on millions of Americans, a New York Times investigation has found. …

Mr. Dudek was recently placed on administrative leave … 

Mr. Dudek, 48, has told associates that while he did his best to fend off deeper cuts, he harbors deep misgivings about the effect of DOGE’s oversight, according to several people familiar with the conversations. … 

On Feb. 27, a DOGE engineer told Mr. Dudek in an email that the administration had identified roughly three dozen federal contracts in Maine as “nonessential,” including the two from Social Security. 

“We should cancel them,” wrote the engineer, Ethan Shaotran, 23, who declined to comment when reached by The Times. … 

Mr. Dudek faced another crisis on March 20, when a federal judge issued an order prohibiting Mr. Musk’s team from entering Social Security databases that contained personally identifying information. … 

On the night of the ruling, two DOGE leaders told Mr. Dudek that the agency should continue allowing access to the data despite the judge’s order, with one arguing that the order was so ambiguous that it could block all Social Security employees, not just members of DOGE, from gaining access, according to a person familiar with events. …

     One question I have after reading this is whether Dudek talked with the Times. I’ll guess he did.

First 100 Days

      The Trump Administration has identified its top accomplishments at Social Security in its first 100 days.

Trump Administration's Childish Passion For Undoing Anything Joe Biden Did Extends To Sabotaging Its Own AI Efforts

     From Time:

...  The Biden Administration moved aggressively in its final 18 months to convince more than 200 AI technology experts to forgo the private sector for the federal workforce, through what was called the ”National AI Talent Surge.” The new hires were deployed throughout the government and used AI to find ways to reduce Social Security wait times, simplify tax filings, and help veterans track their medical care. Most of them were quickly pushed out by the new administration, multiple former federal officials tell TIME.

The shift, say the former officials, represents an enormous waste of federal resources, as agencies across the Trump Administration are looking to draw workers with the very experience they just let go. It also means agencies may have to increasingly rely on costlier outside companies for that expertise. ...

In early 2024, Biden officials hired Angelica Quirarte, who had spent years pitching tech experts on becoming public servants. Quirarte says that coders and engineers are natural problem-solvers and are attracted to the challenge of working with huge data sets that can improve services for millions of people. ...

In less than a year, Quirarte tells TIME, she helped hire about 250 AI experts. After Trump’s actions, she estimates about 10% of that cohort are still with the federal government.

“It’s going to be really hard” for the Trump administration to hire more tech workers after such haphazard layoffs, Quirarte says. “It’s so chaotic.” ...

    These are not serious people. 

NDAs?

      I’ve been wondering about something. Maybe someone can answer my question anonymously. Have Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) figured into any of the recent departures of high level personnel at Social Security? I don’t know that NDAs have figured into federal personnel policies in the past but they’re something that the current President has used extensively in his businesses. There are reports that NDAs were used for White House staff during the first Trump Administration although those were apparently signed before hiring.  I notice that the recently fired Acting Commissioner and the Regional Commissioners who left under circumstances we don’t understand have not spoken publicly about their departures from the agency or their views about what’s going on now at Social Security. Not a one. I’d think some of them would like to talk with the media but none has. NDAs could explain this but maybe it’s just reticence or fear of becoming the target of Trump’s crazy supporters. I have no idea whether federal funds could be used for NDAs.

     Anybody know anything about this that you can share, at least anonymously?

A Poll

 

online polls

Tense Times In Baltimore

     From the Baltimore Banner:

...  “Everything was smooth and very positive, and it seemed like this was a great place to work. But now, no one knows anything,” said a Baltimore-area Social Security employee who has been with the agency less than a year. “I still don’t know if I’m going to have a job.” 

 That employee, as well as other current Social Security workers, asked for anonymity out of fear of being targeted by the administration. ...

The Trump administration said it is terminating most probationary workers across federal agencies. About 4% of Social Security’s 58,627 employees nationwide had less than one year on the job as of spring 2024, according to the most recent federal data available. ...

    I can't copy them here but the photos that accompany this article are evocative and depressing, more so than the writing and the writing is good.

More On The Elevation Of Dudek — With A Small Role For Andrew Saul

      From Lisa Rein at the Washington Post:

Leaders of the Social Security Administration had just opened an investigation into a career employee they believed was improperly sharing information with Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team when President Donald Trump elevated the employee this week to acting commissioner. …

It’s not clear what data Dudek shared, but his actions raised enough alarm that he may have violated privacy and tax laws that senior officials placed him on paid leave as they launched their investigation. The officials, including attorneys in the general counsel’s office, also were notified late last week that Dudek had sent harassing emails to employees in the agency’s personnel and security divisions to rush them to let several engineers hired by DOGE start work and gain access to agency computer systems. The officials pushed back, saying that they had not completed background investigations into the new hires….

When the [DOGE] team learned last week that Dudek would be investigated, the chief information officer called acting commissioner Michelle King to demand answers. Then, on the Sunday of Presidents’ Day weekend, King received an email announcing that Trump had appointed Dudek to replace her. After being effectively forced out, King abruptly retired after three decades of service, the three individuals said. Her acting chief of staff, Tiffany Flick, also retired. …

In his first days on the job, Dudek has made bold moves that are highly unusual for someone in an acting role. He has slashed the agency’s research program, restructured numerous departments, announced the hires of new political staff, and made personnel changes that include the demotion of the career senior executive who was involved in placing him on paid leave last week, according to internal personnel announcements obtained by The Washington Post. …

“If I were them, I would want to get my permanent person in as fast as possible,” said Andrew Saul, who served as Social Security commissioner during Trump’s first term. “The situation is not good, obviously.”
Saul said he recommended King, then deputy commissioner for operations, to Trump’s transition team after his election in November. “I knew she’d hold the ship down.” …

Picture Of The Week

 

Another Great Victory For DOGE: Acting COSS Resigns

      From the Washington Post:

The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration left her job this weekend after a clash with billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service over its attempts to access sensitive government records, three people familiar with her departure said Monday.
Michelle King, who spent several decades at the agency before being named its acting commissioner last month, left her position Sunday after the disagreement, the people said.
President Donald Trump appointed Leland Dudek, a manager in charge of Social Security’s anti-fraud office, as acting commissioner … 

In selecting Dudek, Trump bypassed dozens of other senior executives who sat higher on the agency’s leadership hierarchy, touching off alarm in and around the agency, which has already faced years of budget and staffing difficulties. …

     According to the New York Times “Before he was named, Mr. Dudek posted comments on LinkedIn praising Mr. Musk’s team and saying he had been assisting its efforts, according to people who saw his posts. Mr. Dudek has deleted his account.“ comments on LinkedIn praising Mr. Musk’s team and saying he hYou thought I was joking when I said that some high Social Security officials would face horrible decisions during the Trump Administration. 

Yeah, Right

 

     Did Musk receive some distorted information about dependent benefits? Yes, multiple people can receive benefits on one Social Security number. It’s all quite legal.

Musk’s Campaign Against Social Security

      Elon Musk, who has been granted sweeping powers by President Trump, has been making extravagant claims about the existence of massive fraud at the Social Security Administration. Supposedly millions of people are being paid benefits improperly. Trillions of dollars are being stolen. I could go through the various allegations he is making and show why they’re false but it’s pointless. The readers of this blog  already know there is no substance to any of this. None. Besides, by tomorrow there will be new tall tales.

     I can’t figure out what Musk’s game is. Does he really believe this nonsense? Is he spreading lies because he wants to destabilize Social Security? Is he trying to prepare the political landscape for some massive change in Social Security? What happens when Musk’s DOGE minions are unable to find any fraud beyond one man who buried his mother in his backyard so he could continue to receive her Social Security benefits?

     Whatever Musk’s game may be, he’s causing lasting damage. Credulous people will continue to believe his fairy tales for decades to come. It’s depressing.

Rally Against Musk Cuts

      From The Hill:

Democrats rallied against billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk,who also heads up President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), outside the Social Security Administration’s headquarters in Baltimore.

Democrats from both chambers gathered to sound alarm after a judge temporarily blocked Musk and DOGE personnel from gaining access to the Treasury Department’s sensitive payment system. …

Among those in attendance at the demonstration included Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Democratic Maryland Reps. Kweisi Mfume (D), Johnny Olszewski and Sarah Elfreth. Martin O’Malley, the former Baltimore mayor, Maryland governor and Social Security commissioner, also spoke at the event. …

DOGE Coming To SSA

      From Semafor:

… The Social Security Administration is an upcoming focus of the Department of Government Efficiency, a source with knowledge of its work told Semafor, and one person involved in DOGE is currently preparing to work with the agency that provides benefits to the elderly and disabled. … 

DOGE’s basic plan, already in progress at certain agencies, includes asking government managers to help create a plan for workforce reductions, reorganization of divisions — and, if necessary, shutdown of certain areas, one of the three people said.

The shutdown targets are likely to include regional offices seen by DOGE as archaic and wasteful, as well as the sale or other elimination of some properties the government owns. …

How Many Remember This?

 

    After Donald Trump’s first inauguration, things were a bit disorganized at the White House, so disorganized that it took nine months before Social Security offices displayed his portrait. MAGA types were quick to blame the dastardly Deep State for this indignity but the explanation was far simpler. The White House hadn’t given the General Services Administration an approved portrait for reproduction. The Trump White House may have had little idea what the GSA does. In case you don’t know, the GSA takes care of a lot of housekeeping for federal agencies such as leasing office space, buying office supplies and printing and distributing official Presidential portraits to hang in federal offices.

     Let’s keep an eye on how quickly Social Security offices display Trump’s portrait. It will be something of an indicator of how efficiently or inefficiently the Trump II White House is functioning.

New Acting Commissioner

     Social Security’s organization chart now shows Michelle King as Acting Commissioner.

Good Luck Implementing This

      From the New York Times:

The U.S. government will no longer recognize the citizenship of children born in the United States to immigrants who lack legal status, one of 10 immigration-related executive orders President-elect Donald Trump plans to sign Monday, an incoming administration official told reporters. 

     I can think of no immediate way to implement this other than by refusing to issue Social Security numbers to the children of those who lack legal status. Of course, Trump and his aides may not have thought that far ahead.

     This is blatantly unconstitutional. 

Maybe The Original Change In The Listing Was A Bad Idea

     From a notice published in the Federal Register today:

We are extending the flexibility in the “close proximity of time” standard, as defined in two prior temporary final rules (TFR), through May 11, 2029. We issued a TFR providing the “close proximity of time” flexibility on July 23, 2021, because the COVID-19 national public health emergency (PHE) caused many individuals to experience barriers that prevented them from timely accessing in-person healthcare. On September 29, 2023, we extended the flexibility to evaluate evolving healthcare practices and consumption in a post-PHE environment. We determined that we need additional time to fully evaluate still-evolving healthcare practices after the PHE. We are therefore issuing this TFR to extend the “close proximity of time” flexibility until May 11, 2029, so we can continue to evaluate changes in healthcare practices and determine the proper “close proximity of time” standard for the musculoskeletal disorders listings.

    Let me check. I don't think Trump will still be President on May 11, 2029, assuming we follow the Constitution, which may be an uncertain thing.

Watch Out

 

   Despite specific language in the 14th Amendment making anyone born in the United States a U.S. citizen, the incoming Trump Administration seems determined to try to deny citizenship to those born in the U.S. to parents who were not in the U.S. legally. One crucial way of doing this would be to refuse to issue Social Security numbers to children whose parents aren't in the U.S. legally.

    I think it would be a big job to investigate the immigration/citizenship status of the parents of every baby born in the U.S. The Social Security Administration isn't ready for such a task. The public isn't ready for the delays that would be associated with this. Still, watch out. This could be coming as early as January 21, 2025.

What If?

     It's unlikely to happen but let's say that just before Inauguration Day, the Social Security Administration finally releases its new occupational information system and let's say it shows no unskilled, sedentary jobs. People would reasonably ask why it wasn't released earlier but, still, this would be a nice bomb for the Biden Administration to leave behind for a new Commissioner.

    As I say, it's unlikely to happen but a guy can have dreams.