Insider’s Report: Damage Done to the Social Security Administration by DOGE and Others Comes into Sharper Focus

From brutal workforce cuts to unnecessary hurdles for beneficiaries, the Trump Administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE team unleashed trauma and chaos at the Social Security Administration (SSA) shortly after President Trump took office. Even as Musk left the federal government, the damage done to Social Security ( [link removed] ) is coming into sharper focus.

An attorney for whistleblower Chuck Borges says that DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) accessing Americans’ sensitive Social Security information is like “the fox guarding the henhouse” — as her client appeared on PBS NewsHour responding to the latest news about data mishandling at the Social Security Administration (SSA). The attorney goes on to say that the “government is lying to us” about DOGE’s malfeasance.

Borges, who was SSA’s chief data officer until being forced to resign, told NewsHour that a court filing from the Trump administration confirms some of his worst fears about DOGE’s abuse of beneficiaries’ personal data. The interview comes on the heels of reporting two weeks ago that DOGE employees shared sensitive Social Security data with a third party to ‘overturn election results.'

Borges filed a formal complaint about DOGE activities last summer, before being pushed out of SSA. His reporting flagged three specific concerns, which have now been partially validated by the recent court disclosure from the Trump Administration’s very own Department of Justice (DOJ):

DOGE employees were granted inappropriate access to SSA data.
DOGE employees violated a temporary restraining order after sharing this data through “Voter Data Agreement” with an unnamed conservative advocacy group.
DOGE employees uploaded sensitive Social Security data to an internet cloud server without adequate security controls.

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February Is Black History Month

As we celebrate Black History Month and pay tribute to generations of African Americans who have struggled with adversity all their lives, it’s the perfect time to highlight how important Social Security is to the African American community ( [link removed] ).

Social Security benefits are especially crucial to people of color who tend to have fewer alternative resources, become disabled at higher rates and disproportionately rely on Social Security’s family benefit features. Black American workers more than most other Americans are concentrated in low-wage jobs that typically lack pension coverage, experience higher poverty and unemployment rates, and have less ability to save and invest for retirement. Social Security, therefore, provides many elderly Black Americans with their sole or primary source of income in retirement. Consequently, preserving and strengthening the current system and its benefits is crucial for Black Americans.

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Whether you’re retired or approaching retirement, our team of experts in the field of Social Security policy is available to answer your questions about benefits.

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This week’s question is: 
Is a person receiving Social Security disability also entitled to receive half of the husband’s Social Security retirement? Do a disabled husband and wife have to pay federal or state tax?

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DOGE Social Security Data Breach Puts Retirees at Risk ( [link removed] )

The most recent reports “of DOGE malfeasance are not isolated," said Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, in a statement. “In August, DOGE team members were found to have uploaded the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans to a 'vulnerable cloud server.’ We have warned from the beginning that DOGE had no business accessing this data and that no good could come of it." (February 2, 2026, Think Advisor, Melanie Waddell)

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A $1.2 Trillion ‘Rip Off’: Report Spotlights Massive Scale of Medicare Advantage Fraud ( [link removed] )

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reports that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are on track to overbill the government by $76 billion this year. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare says the new analysis “confirms that MA plans are bleeding taxpayers for billions of dollars more than traditional Medicare would cost for comparable enrollees.” (January 28, 2026, Common Dreams, Jake Johnson)

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Medicare Negotiations For Next Round Of 15 Drugs Could Lead To Large Price Drops ( [link removed] )

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a list last week of the next 15 top-selling brand-name drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation. A large percentage of the 15 drugs have relatively high net prices. A ceiling “maximum fair price” established by the Inflation Reduction Act will end up being an important driver of substantially lower prices for this set of drugs. (February 1, 2026, Forbes, Joshua P. Cohen)

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New Bill Calls for Advance Notice of Social Security Field Office Closure ( [link removed] )

Legislation from U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (WI-04) would impose strict guidelines for closing or reducing access to Social Security field offices. The bill “protects seniors’ access to proper customer service ... in stark contrast to the capricious changes that the Trump Administration has made at the Social Security Administration without apparent regard for beneficiaries’ real needs,” said Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Protect Social Security and Medicare. (January 27, 2026, Think Advisor, Melanie Waddell)

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The facts are in: Trump’s return-to-office mandate backfired ( [link removed] )

A GAO report found that the Social Security Administration’s return-to-office mandate sharply reduced telework, increased employee turnover, and underscored the need to use telework strategically to recruit and retain staff. (January 27, 2026, The Hill, Gleb Tsipursky)

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Whistleblower responds after DOJ confirms DOGE mishandled Social Security data ( [link removed] )

The Social Security Administration (SSA) disclosed that members of Elon Musk’s DOGE team accessed and shared sensitive agency data, confirming concerns raised in a whistleblower complaint filed by the agency’s chief data officer, Chuck Borges. Borges appeared on PBS NewsHour in a wide-ranging interview reviewing his allegations. (January 27, 2026, PBS New Hour, video)

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Medicare Advantage Insurers Made Nearly 53 Million Prior Authorization Determinations in 2024 ( [link removed] )

Prior authorization is used far more often in Medicare Advantage than in traditional Medicare and, while intended to control costs, it frequently delays care, results in denials that are often overturned on appeal, and creates major frustration for patients and providers. (January 28, 2026; Kaiser; Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, Nolan Sroczynski, Meredith Freed and Tricia Neuman)

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