Fearless Reporting for an Informed Society — Join Us.<a href="[link removed]><img src="[link removed]" alt="" border="0" /></a>

Hero: ProPublica - Support fearless reporting for an informed society. Spring Member Drive <[link removed]>

Hi Reader,

We are living through a significant transformation in the scope and scale of the federal government. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency <[link removed]> has facilitated sweeping cuts in staffing and contracts across federal agencies. Decisions are being made and unmade with such speed that it can be hard to grasp the totality of what is happening and what the consequences will be. But ProPublica is determined to bring transparency and accountability to a process that seems obscure by design.

Just last week, ProPublica obtained a recording of a closed-door meeting at the Social Security Administration <[link removed]> that gives readers an extraordinary window into what it’s really like working for federal agencies as their positions become increasingly precarious. Throughout the meeting, acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek made alarming statements about the perils facing the Social Security system, but he did so in an oddly informal, discursive manner. It left several participants baffled as to the ultimate fate of the nation’s largest and most popular social program, one that serves 73 million Americans. “Are we going to break something?” Dudek asked at one point, referring to what DOGE has been doing with Social Security data. “I don’t know,” he said.

The recording offers remarkably candid insight into the thinking of a top agency official in the volatile early days of the second Trump administration, and it reveals the extent to which “the DOGE kids,” as Dudek calls them, and the White House are calling the shots at Social Security. In the meeting, Dudek framed the choices that he has been making in recent weeks as “the president’s” agenda, including planned cuts of at least 7,000 Social Security employees; buyouts and early retirement offers; cuts to disability determination services; the dissolution of a team that had been working to improve the user experience of the ssa.gov website and application process; a reduction of the agency’s footprint across the country from 10 regional offices to four; the terminations of 64 leases, including those for some field office and hearing office spaces; proposals to outsource Social Security customer service; and more. The layoffs — and the looming specter of potentially thousands more employees taking a buyout — have meant even less attention is being paid to the complicated casework of low-income elderly people and people with physical and intellectual disabilities, as ProPublica has reported <[link removed]>.

Meanwhile, our reporter also learned that DOGE has actually undermined the efficiency of Social Security’s delivery of services in multiple ways. One example: Tech systems seem to be crashing nearly every day after several Social Security IT contracts were canceled or scaled back by DOGE, leading to more delays. This was already a problem, employees said, but it has gotten “much worse” and is “not the norm.”

Dudek said in the meeting that it “would be catastrophic for the people in our country” if DOGE were to make changes at his agency that were as sweeping as those at USAID <[link removed]>, the Treasury Department and elsewhere. When a participant in the meeting asked him why he wouldn’t more forcefully call out President Donald Trump’s continued false claims about widespread Social Security fraud as “BS,” Dudek answered, “So we published, for the record, what was actually the numbers there on our website. This is dealing with — have you ever worked with someone who’s manic-depressive?”

Spokespersons for Dudek and the Social Security Administration, the White House and Elon Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

ProPublica remains a beacon of accountability in an age where misinformation is pervasive and institutional trust is eroding. Our nonprofit structure sets us apart from many of our media colleagues, as we aren’t beholden to a corporate owner, shareholders, page views or advertisers. Rather, ProPublica’s independence enables us to report without fear or favor, following investigations wherever they lead. Join now, and help us continue to give readers an independent, verifiable account of what’s happening. <[link removed]>This work has never been more necessary.

Thanks so much,

Megan Martenyi

Proud ProPublican <[link removed]>

Donate to ProPublica <[link removed]>

 

 
Become a ProPublican
Join over 70,000 smart, generous, discerning readers who believe that fact-based journalism matters, and donate money to make sure that ProPublica remains financially healthy. It doesn’t take much to become a ProPublican — even a $1 donation will make you one <[link removed]>. Interested in donating through your IRA, donor advised fund, or with stocks? Email us <mailto:[email protected]> or click here for more info <[link removed]>.

ProPublica is a 501(c)3 and our EIN is 14-2007220.

 

VenmoApple PayGoogle PayPayPal
This email was sent to [email protected]. View it in your browser <[link removed]>.

ProPublica • 155 Ave of the Americas, 13th Floor • New York, NY 10013

 

  
 

Stop fundraising emails <[link removed][]=Do+Not+Solicit> Unsubscribe from all emails <[link removed]>  
ProPublica is a nonprofit, and we get the bulk of our funding from individuals like you. Hence, these requests for donations. Prefer not to get these emails? No problem, unsubscribe from only solicitation emails above. ☝