Elon Musk has made an outlandish claim, often pushed by far-right conspiracy theorists, that Democrats are using Social Security and Medicare fraud to attract immigrants and increase their voter base. He argued, without providing evidence, that this fraud has cost the government billions of dollars and is being used to sway elections.
Musk, who owns Tesla and SpaceX and is closely connected with Donald Trump, suggested that these programs were being exploited to help illegal immigrants. He said that the fraud had allowed the Democrats to bring in millions of immigrants who would depend on government handouts and vote Democrat.
“This is why the Democrats are so upset about the situation,” Musk said on a podcast with Republican Senator Ted Cruz and radio host Ben Ferguson. “By using entitlements fraud, the Democrats have been able to attract and retain vast numbers of illegal immigrants and buy voters. Basically bring in 10, 20 million people who are beholden to the Democrats for government handouts and will vote overwhelmingly Democrat.”
Musk also proposed creating a “department of government efficiency” (Doge) to stop fraudulent entitlement payments to people he calls “illegals,” and mentioned several government programs, including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, and small business loans.
His remarks also touched on the “great replacement theory,” a controversial and racist idea that claims white Americans are being replaced by immigrants, particularly in swing states.
“If the Dems can bring in 200,000 illegals and get them legalized … even without cheating, if you bring in illegals that are 10 [times] the voting differential in a swing state, it will no longer be a swing state,” Musk said, according to The Guardian. “And the Dems will win all the swing states in a matter of time.”
Musk also warned about what he called a “deep socialist state” taking over the government if the Democrats continue these practices.
Over the last few days, Musk’s Doge group has focused on Social Security, which Musk has called “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” He claimed that the system is plagued by fraud, although he didn’t link this specifically to immigrants. One of his main targets is an alleged list of dead people he says are still receiving Social Security payments. Musk claimed that there were 20 million “dead people in the social security database.”
At least 10 employees from Musk’s Doge have been assigned to look into people who are listed as dead but are still receiving benefits. However, officials at the Social Security Administration (SSA), including acting commissioner Lee Dudek, explained that the list Musk refers to includes people whose death dates are missing from the records, not necessarily people still receiving benefits.
Musk has also pushed for cuts at the SSA, which is already facing staffing reductions. In February, the agency announced plans to cut its workforce target to 50,000 employees, down from 57,000. Additionally, under Musk’s influence, the SSA is now requiring in-person identity checks for recipients who cannot verify their identity online.
The government has released varying estimates on how much fraud has occurred. A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last year estimated that fraud could be as high as $521 billion, though it noted that the pandemic may have led to more fraud. Other reports, including one from the White House, found much lower numbers, ranging from $4.4 billion to $7.31 billion in fraud during the same period.
For Social Security specifically, the SSA reports that only 0.3% of all payments are incorrect, largely due to mistakes or delays, not fraud.
The White House has tried to balance Musk’s calls for cutting entitlement programs with promises that Americans won’t lose their benefits.
Recent polls show that while Musk’s Doge project has gained some support from right-wing voters, many Americans have negative views of Musk himself. A recent NBC News poll found that 46% of Americans view Doge positively, while only 39% view Musk in the same light. Additionally, 51% of people polled said they had a negative opinion of him.
