March 03, 2025

Warren Demands Answers on Reports of Acting Social Security Commissioner’s Assistance Providing DOGE Unauthorized Access to Social Security Systems

Reports Indicate Dudek Played A Key Role in Providing DOGE Officials Access To SSA Systems

“If DOGE officials interfere – either purposefully or accidentally – with [SSA] function, it could result in delays or disruptions to Americans’ Social Security benefits.”

Acting Commissioner Now Calling for Huge Cuts in Social Security Staff

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Leland Dudek, Acting Social Security Commissioner, requesting information about reports regarding his decision to give the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) improper and unauthorized access to Americans’ sensitive personal data – a decision that resulted in the SSA’s placing Mr. Dudek on administrative leave. The letter follows troubling reports indicating that President Trump may have appointed Mr. Dudek Acting Commissioner as a reward for his facilitating DOGE’s illegal access to SSA systems. 

Since the start of the Trump Administration, DOGE operatives have launched an attack on the agency, closing at least 10 local offices, firing workers, and gaining access to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) internal systems that contain extremely sensitive personal information belonging to millions of Americans who receive Social Security benefits.

“This level of access for individuals not employed by SSA is unprecedented and alarming, and reports indicate that you played a key role in providing this access,” wrote the senator.  “If DOGE officials interfere – either purposefully or accidentally – with their function, it could result in delays or disruptions to Americans’ Social Security benefits,” she warned.

Reporting by the Wall Street Journal indicates that Mr. Dudek had been “sharing information with nonagency personnel beginning in December, before Trump’s inauguration, and... pressured [career staff] to help DOGE representatives.” These alarming actions prompted leaders at SSA to place Mr. Dudek on leave, pending an investigation into his efforts on DOGE’s behalf. Mr. Dudek even appears to have corroborated reports of his actions in a now-deleted LinkedIn post.

“This is a deeply troubling set of facts, revealing that you may have acted against agency policy – or even illegally – to facilitate DOGE’s efforts to access SSA systems, and that President Trump then rewarded you by naming you Acting Commissioner,” wrote the senator.

To better understand the threat posed by DOGE, Senator Warren demanded Acting Commissioner Dudek answer the following questions: 

  1. What access to SSA systems does DOGE currently have?

  2. What role did you play in the decision to give DOGE-affiliated or others that access?

  3. What were the circumstances under which you were named Acting SSA Commissioner?

  4. Were you placed on administrative leave at the agency prior to your appointment as Acting Commissioner? If so, when and why were you placed on leave?

  5. Were you the subject of any internal SSA investigation prior to being named Acting Commissioner? 

  6. Did you request in a February meeting that SSA managers present you with a plan for a major reduction in SSA staff?

Due to the serious nature of these allegations, Senator Warren requested a response to her questions by March 10, 2025. 

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