A new report has revealed that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has placed several of its operatives within the Social Security Administration (SSA). These operatives, whose presence had been kept under wraps, are now working in an agency that oversees benefits for tens of millions of Americans. This discovery raises concerns about the potential impact on Social Security operations, which are already facing significant staffing cuts.
According to Wired, the 10 DOGE operatives identified in the report are Akash Bobba, Scott Coulter, Marko Elez, Luke Farritor, Antonio Gracias, Gautier Cole Killian, Jon Koval, Nikhil Rajpal, Payton Rehling, and Ethan Shaotran. Among them are young engineers whose roles within the SSA had not previously been disclosed.
“This team appears to be among the largest DOGE units deployed to any government agency,” the report notes. Many of these staffers have previously worked or interned at Musk’s companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX. Furthermore, several have recently appeared in other government agencies, as part of Musk’s broader push to place DOGE operatives throughout the government.
The report comes amid growing concerns over the operatives’ access to highly sensitive data at the SSA. Bloomberg reported that at least seven DOGE staffers have been granted access to the Master File of Social Security Number Holders and SSN Applications (Numident), a database containing Social Security numbers and applications. The operatives currently have read-only access as they investigate possible fraudulent benefits.
Both Elon Musk and President Donald Trump have recently made false claims about millions of dead people receiving Social Security benefits, further fueling fears over the handling of sensitive SSA information.
One of the key responsibilities of these DOGE operatives is managing the identity verification process for benefit payments. This has raised alarms among experts, who worry that the inexperience of the DOGE staffers could jeopardize the SSA’s systems or lead to leaks of sensitive data.
Leland Dudek, the acting SSA commissioner appointed by Trump, admitted in a closed-door meeting with SSA staffers that Musk’s operatives now have significant influence at the agency, despite their limited knowledge of SSA’s operations. “Are we going to break something?” Dudek reportedly asked during the meeting. “I don’t know.”
Democratic lawmakers are calling for an investigation into Musk’s involvement with the SSA.
Senators, including Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), have expressed concerns about the “unfettered access” that these operatives have to SSA data. In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, Wyden and his colleagues warned that this access could cause “irreparable harm to the agency’s systems and Americans’ financial security.”
This new report raises critical questions about the role of private interests in public agencies and the potential risks posed by Musk’s operatives within the Social Security Administration.
