Ranking House Oversight member says DOGE has created 'chaos' at the Social Security Administration
Allie Kelly/BI
- A House Oversight member says DOGE has created chaos at the Social Security Administration.
- He said DOGE's actions are putting Americans data, privacy, and access to benefits in danger.
- DOGE's handling of sensitive data may have broken multiple laws, Rep. Gerald Connolly said.
A ranking member of the House Oversight Committee wrote in a new letter that DOGE has unleashed "chaos" at the Social Security Administration, putting Americans' privacy, security, and access to benefits at risk.
In a Thursday letter to Michelle Anderson, the SSA's Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Democratic Representative Gerald Connolly of Virginia urged the agency to investigate DOGE's actions and access to SSA data.
"The whistleblower information obtained by the Committee, combined with public reporting, paints a picture of chaos at SSA as DOGE is rapidly, haphazardly, and unlawfully working to implement changes that could disrupt Social Security payments and expose Americans' sensitive data," Connolly wrote in the letter.
One of Connolly's major concerns about DOGE's actions at the SSA is its attempt to combine sensitive data held separately by multiple federal agencies — including the SSA, the Internal Revenue Service, Health and Human Services — into "a single cross-agency master database." Connolly said the Committee has information that indicates DOGE "is carrying out its work in a manner that disregards important cybersecurity and privacy considerations, potentially in violation of the law."
Connolly said that DOGE engineers have tried to skirt network security controls to create specialized computers for themselves with full access to data across agencies, and that DOGE associates have been collecting "backpacks full of laptops" each containing access to federal agencies' databases. Such actions could be in violation of federal laws that limit how agencies share information with each other and that require individuals' consent before such information is shared, he wrote.
Another of Connolly's concerns is the recent staffing reductions at the SSA and the impact on IT systems. On top of already eliminating around 7,000 positions at the SSA, DOGE has called for cutting 50% of the technology staff that manage the agency's website, benefits portals, and IT systems, Connolly wrote, citing The Washington Post. And, Connolly said, the Trump administration has plans to eliminate an additional 25% of staffers who oversee the SSA's data systems.
These mass firings are happening at the same time the SSA has experienced repeated IT failures and website outages, which "could mean seniors and others who rely on Social Security are left without the income they need to buy food, pay rent, heat their homes, afford medications, and more," Connolly wrote.
Connolly also said that the Committee has learned the Trump administration plans to replace critical SSA IT systems without enough planning and preparation to prevent "significant operational disruptions" that could have "catastrophic" consequences for Americans' ability to receive lifeline Social Security benefits.
"During its short existence, DOGE has established a track record of extreme negligence and an alarmingly cavalier attitude with respect to protecting Americans' sensitive data," Connolly said.
Connolly urged the SSA to address his key concerns so that the Committee can decide whether it needs to make legislative reforms to keep Americans' data and federal systems safe.
The SSA press office said it has received the letter and will respond directly to Connolly.
"President Trump will always protect social security, and every recipient will continue to receive their benefits," White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in a statement shared with Business Insider.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has tasked DOGE, and its de facto leader, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, with gutting the federal workforce and slashing government spending. In that short time, DOGE has worked quickly to target the employees, contracts, building leases, expenses, operations, and data of nearly every federal agency.