Fresh off its USAID victory, the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has set its sights on exposing and stopping Social Security fraud. But instead of working with DOGE and congressional Republicans to end the rampant abuse of American seniors’ retirement benefits, Democrats are instead spreading blatant misinformation by claiming that the Trump administration is aiming to gut the program altogether.
Fox News first reported late last week that the Social Security Administration (SSA) was next on DOGE’s list of agencies to audit. “We’ve got people [receiving benefits] that are 150 years old,” Musk told members of the press earlier this week. “I think they’re probably dead, is my guess, or they should be very famous, one of the two,” he joked.
Liberals have predictably descended into a fit of manufactured outrage at the news, casting DOGE’s efforts to eliminate fraud as a ploy to cut legitimate benefit payments. House and Senate Democrats held a press conference outside SSA’s headquarters in Baltimore earlier this week accusing Musk of “conducting illegal raids on federal agencies with his DOGE crew.”
“We have one simple message, which is: Elon Musk, keep your hands off of our Social Security,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said at the top of the press conference. Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) was even more direct in a post on X, writing that “Donald Trump and Elon Musk are trying to take away your hard-earned Social Security benefits.”
But as Trump, Musk, and congressional Republicans have repeatedly made clear, DOGE has precisely the opposite mission. By finally tackling fraud and administrative errors resulting in overpayments, DOGE has created real momentum toward addressing the solvency crisis that has plagued the Social Security program for decades – thereby protecting seniors’ benefits.
“The goal of auditing the Social Security Administration is to stop the extreme levels of fraud taking place, so that it remains solvent and protects the social security checks of honest Americans,” Musk posted on X on Monday. “That’s it. That’s the goal. End of story.”
According to the SSA inspector general’s office, from FY 2015 through FY 2022, the agency made “nearly $72 billion in improper payments, most of which were overpayments.” Moreover, “at the end of FY 2023, SSA had an uncollected overpayment balance of $23 billion.”
Another report from nonprofit research institute Just Facts found that SSA handed out $2 billion in fraudulent or improper payments in 2022 – enough “to pay 89,947 retired workers the average annual old-age benefit of $21,924 for 2023.”
DOGE’s early findings, however, suggest that the scale of the abuse of the Social Security system may be even larger than that. “At this point, I am 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,” Musk posted on X on Tuesday. “Just learned that the social security database is not de-duplicated, meaning you can have the same SSN many times over, which further enables MASSIVE FRAUD!! Your tax dollars are being stolen,” he added in another post.
That fraud and mountain of improper payments were major topics of discussion on Wednesday during the first hearing of the new House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (the DOGE subcommittee), chaired by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). AMAC President and CEO Rebecca Weber submitted an official written statement for the hearing, applauding the subcommittee for “taking President Trump’s direction to ‘strengthen Social Security’ by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse within the Social Security system seriously.”
“Millions of seniors have worked hard their entire lives, paying into Social Security with the expectation that these benefits will be there when they retire,” Weber continued. “Unfortunately, widespread inefficiencies, improper payments, and fraudulent activities threaten to undermine the program’s future and weaken this critical safety net for those who depend on it most.”
Indeed, according to a 2024 SSA report released last May, the combined Social Security trust funds are projected to be depleted by 2035. While more reforms are needed to stave off this looming funding shortfall, addressing fraudulent and improper payments is a crucial step toward ensuring seniors continue to receive the benefits they have earned.
It’s not just Social Security, either. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), improper payments totaled a staggering $236 billion in FY 2023, the last year for which data is available. Medicare – which is also facing an insolvency crisis – was one of the worst offenders, with $51.1 billion in improper payments, or 22 percent of total payment errors. Medicaid added another $50.3 billion.
This is far from a new problem – GAO puts the price tag of improper payments over the past 20 fiscal years at $2.7 trillion. But while both parties have paid lip service to stopping waste, fraud, and abuse in the past, Trump and the DOGE team are the first to take concrete steps to systematically audit spending and then institute major funding cuts.
Democrats can drag their feet and attempt to mislead the public all they want. But Trump and DOGE don’t appear ready to back down anytime soon.
Shane Harris is the Editor-in-Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
Truth does not mind being questioned. A lie does not like being challenged.
The article’s final paragraph says it all — TIME TO ELIMINATE THE FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE in the government hierarchy. Voters need to vote out the idiots who are abusing their government powers for themselves.
No compromise.
No “reaching across the aisle”.
Steamroll the corrupt Democrats.
Enough is enough. Give no quarter.
Semper Vigilans.
I could not be happier to see this. I will never understand why the Dems would not like to eliminate fraud. Many of them received Social Security benefits as well as us Independents and Republicans.
My 150-year-old great-great-great-great grandmother is definitely concerned!
Fear mongering to the seniors is what the Democrats are doing. Why would they disagree with finding the fraud and corruptness in order to keep Social Security solvent? Seems pretty basic. They’ve got something to hide and are afraid it will be discovered.
So I guess that the democrats think the 150 year olds are still kicking and that finding waste and fraud in the system somehow effect our benefits. Well they do. Just maybe the funds won’t run out as fast as predicted.
It is hard for me to believe that the SS administration is so inept that they continue to make payments to a 150-year old person? I assume they will get all of the money back from the time of death of this person & if they cannot, tell us why?
Might be one good thing if Musk does look at SS fund, is that both Musk & Trump will realize how many millions of Americans have SS benefits as their primary source of income to live on. Also, both of them will realize that some retired Americans are living on incomes of $2,000 or less per month. For the math, that is $24 K per year! The SS fund was started in 1935 to provide some income to retirees, but not intended to be the sole source of retirement income.
Thank you President Trump for exposing all this corruption that has been like a cancer to our wonderful country for years. Root out all this mismanagement and right this ship of ours.
Democrats, please go sit down and just shut up. You’ve ruined enough with your greed.
Adults are in charge now.
It is my understanding that the congress are not receving benefits under the Social Security Adm.that the everyday worker pays into and receives their retirement funds. They have their own plan and if they were to follow the same program that we, the rest of us, perhaps there would be AUDITS to see what is really going on regarding ALL of the funds being dispersed!
The SS Trust Fund had+ $2.3 Trillion surplus & is a separate fund that the govt. cannot take money out of except as a loan. The govt. is paying a huge amount of interest on these loans every year as a result. Write Congress & tell them to keep this fund separate and pass bills to solidify this fund so that it continues past year 2034. Congress needs to quit kicking this problem down the road to the next generation.
Finally, an administration willing to put action to words. We’ve had only words for decades. The action is unfolding so fast it’s hard to keep up. But welcome. I hope the liberal courts aren’t allowed to gum up the works, they are trying.
I am constantly amazed at Democrats fighting for their own corruption! If they didn’t fight so hard for their own corruption, our country might be in better shape instead of having a bunch of wealthy politicians!!! Maybe the rest of us could have a better life if they didn’t have such a great life at our expense!!!!
DOGE must not forget to target the USPS for waste, fraud, abuse and lack of entrepreneurial common sense. There is no excuse such a massive enterprise should be losing money, especially when the responsible “overseers” are so involved in advantaging the system for their own commercial benefit. It has been reported (Nov. 14, 2024) that the USPS “… lost $9.5 billion….in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30,” and “…11 straight years of financial loss…” (covered by U.S taxpayers, as usual). Just saw an ad promoting seven-cent business postcards. Every day, the mailbox carries an average of five political and/or fund-raising non-profit “letters” reaching out for donations and contributions to their various “causes” at Bulk Mail Rates—like, eight cents an ounce. First rate mail rates for a simple citizen’s letter is seventy-three cents an ounce. Where does the “burden” of loss originate? Favorable rates for special causes, enterprises and political people.
Go gettum, DOGE!
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) are hypocrites for claiming the need to protect SS while vilifying Trump and Musk in their statements. Just another example of why a Convention of States (COS) is needed to term limit corrupt Officials in our government. Another thing that needs to change in our government is elected Officials should not be allowed to decide for themselves when they need a pay raise. Their bosses, the American Taxpayers, should be the ones to decide whether our taxes should be used to give these worthless employees a raise.
Trump should be careful not to lose more of the 150 year old vote… Democrats already have that one locked!
The U.S. treasure must have been a precious one if the America had not spent it for those rubbish expenses during such a lengthening period.
D.O.G.E. is saving our country now. Thank you very much, Elon Musk and his departmental members.
The Damnocraps are well beyond being OUT OF TOUCH with Americans. And they refuse to abandon their 75+-years of using and screaming the SAME OLD FEAR-MONGERING LIES, RACE-BAITING EVERYTHING, ‘PHOBIA’ ACCUSING, AND NAME CALLING ANYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH THEIR WARPED, EVIL AND PERVERTED IDEOLOGY.
Well guess what Dems. Americans are on to you and it ain’t gonna work any longer. Your far left-wing progressive, socialist commie party is DEAD. Your ‘new’ FAILED platform stands on the following: Supporting illegals forever, your love of crime, drugs, filth, and homelessness in our streets, America-LAST, veterans-last, no end to higher taxes, bankrupt the working class to support the illegals, rapists, sex, drug and human traffickers, the annual murdering of millions of babies, reward the LAZY, penalize the WORKING, support Cancel Culture, support failed public education, support men in women sports, and so many, many other INSANE ISSUES. In other words, their party is the party from HELL.
If a dead can vote, why would a 150 years old not collect? Until someone is held accountable, responsible and receives a proper sentence the abuse will continue on collecting and distributing sides..
Hey, Social Security, it’s time to raise the maximum amount you can earn when continuing to work before reaching full retirement age (FRA). My benefits are cut in half (i.e., suspended for six months) because this amount hasn’t been seriously adjusted in 40 years. Yes, my benefits will be adjusted higher once I reach FRA but that’s still a few years away.
we should use those 87000 IRS agents to track down where the payments are going to see if they are legit.
What if anything was done to claw back these improper payments? Did the inspector general do anything about them? Why or why not? If the Inspector General did nothing about these improper payments, was he or she fired? Why or why not?
The Dems have to spread false and misleading lies to protect their possible kickbacks. They never stop and their propaganda machine will continue to crank out lies to those dumb enough to believe.
President Trump and Elon must expose all Democrats and Republicans who are committing Social Security Fraud to people who should not be receiving benefits. Also, these politicians committing need to be prosecuted by honest judges who stand by the law and not by liberal wok judges. There is far too much waste and abuse in government for far too long. The American voters need to be informed by honest politicians, honest news media, and honest judges who follow the law and not by wok judges, politicians, and the media.
As Elon Musk goes after theft and fraud at Social Security, only corrupt democrats would attack him as trying to gut the program. It is sad they are spreading so many lies, misinformation, and disinformation to what’s left of their base.
karoline leavitt deserves a burnt charred bible