American Oversight Launches Investigation into Trump Administration’s Plan to Gut Social Security
Our investigation follows reports that the Trump administration plans to slash the Social Security workforce and implement changes to make it harder to qualify for assistance.
Yesterday, nonpartisan watchdog American Oversight launched an investigation into the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine and dismantle the Social Security Administration (SSA). The group sent multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking communications between SSA officials and representatives from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the U.S. DOGE Service that may shed light on recent reports alleging that DOGE is systematically taking control of the SSA, including placing its personnel in key agency positions.
The investigation follows reports that the Trump administration plans to slash the SSA workforce by thousands, shutter numerous field offices — reducing access to benefits and delaying payments — and implement policy changes designed to make it more difficult for people to qualify for assistance, directly impacting millions of Americans.
“Elon Musk and Donald Trump are gutting Social Security with a chainsaw and represent a serious threat to a critical safety net that Americans have counted on for generations,” said Martin O’Malley, former Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. “These proposed changes would not only increase costs to taxpayers long-term but would also drain the agency of skilled and experienced personnel. I am grateful for American Oversight’s work investigating and providing transparency into the administration’s efforts to dismantle a service Americans of all ages have been paying into for decades.”
“President Trump and Elon Musk’s direct attacks on Social Security should sound the alarm for working families, seniors, and people with disabilities across the country who have worked hard for and rely on these essential benefits,” said Chioma Chukwu, interim Executive Director of American Oversight. “We launched this investigation to uncover why the Trump administration is undermining a vital institution that millions depend on and how it is misleading the public in the process. The public deserves the truth and accountability for these calculated abuses of power.”
Since President Trump took office, American Oversight has filed numerous lawsuits and launched investigations into the administration’s use of Signal to conduct official government business, Trump’s mass firing of independent inspectors general, DOGE’s secretive efforts to invade agencies, the Trump administration’s quid pro quodeal with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and its directive to USAID staff to shred and burn government records. American Oversight will continue to hold Trump and his allies accountable by shining a light on the administration’s actions.