Social Security Eliminates Entire Department

Blank Social Security checks are run through a printer at the US Treasury printing facility in Philadelphia, Pa. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that it is eliminating its Office of Transformation, which it described in a news release Monday as a “wasteful department.”

President Donald Trump previously “mandated the federal government eliminate wasteful and inefficient offices and the Office of Transformation was a prime example,” said acting Social Security Commissioner Lee Dudek in a statement. “This redundant office was created under the previous administration and we are righting that wrong.”

Other details about the decision to remove the office were not provided by the SSA.

A webpage-based manual said the Office of Transformation was responsible for providing “strategic guidance and oversight of enterprise-wide initiatives, addressing policies, business processes, and systems.”

Last week, the agency announced it would cut Retirement and Disability Research Consortium cooperative agreements that Dudek described as wasteful and said his office “will continue to root out waste and abuse to earn back America’s trust and confidence in our agency.”

Social Security had entered into the cooperative agreements with research centers that focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in Social Security retirement and disability policies. The termination of those agreements would save approximately $15 million, according to the agency.

That same day, the administration moved its Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight into other existing parts of the agency. Dudek also said the move was done as part of the Trump administration’s plans to root out fraud, abuse, and waste.

“Realigning functions previously under the Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight, is an important, common-sense step in the right direction to further strengthen the integrity of the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs millions of people depend on,” Dudek said in a statement.

Since taking office, Trump has moved to reduce spending by cutting out programs and reducing the size of the federal workforce. He also created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is being led by White House adviser and tech billionaire Elon Musk, to find ways to save money and boost efficiency.

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against the administration and DOGE, including attempts to stop reductions in the federal workforce and DOGE’s access to government systems. The SSA did not say if the recent changes were part of DOGE’s efforts.

About a week ago, Trump replaced Michelle King, acting head of the SSA, amid scrutiny by DOGE, which found more than 12 million people aged over 120 years old were marked as eligible to receive Social Security benefits in the SSA system.

Dudek, who took over as acting commissioner last week, addressed those findings in a statement on Feb. 19, saying he wanted to “acknowledge recent reporting about the number of people older than age 100 who may be receiving benefits from Social Security.”

“The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” Dudek said, adding that he is “confident that with DOGE’s help and the commitment of our executive team and workforce, that Social Security will continue to deliver for the American people.”

The president told Fox News that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits won’t be touched by his administration.

“Look, Social Security won’t be touched, other than if there’s fraud or something. It’s going to be strengthened. But it won’t be touched,” he said. “Medicare, Medicaid, none of that stuff is going to be touched.”

He also said any illegal immigrants who may be receiving those benefits will be removed.

In the same interview, Musk warned that DOGE needs to act quickly to cut federal spending, or Social Security and Medicare will be impacted in the future. A report last year from the Congressional Budget Office has projected that Social Security, in particular, will go insolvent by the year 2034.

“How do we assure people that we’re going to do the right thing ... that their Social Security benefits will be there” or “ensure that there’s better medical care in the future?” Musk said.