The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner said members of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team are outsiders who are unfamiliar with the nuances of the agency’s programs.

The Trump Administration, with the help of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is targeting a wide range of federal government agencies for mass layoffs. And the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is not escaping the Trump/DOGE cuts.

The Social Security Administration announced Friday it's cutting 7,000 jobs, as Trump and Musk have claimed there's fraud at the agency.

Data analyst Leland Dudek was suspected of sharing unauthorized access to information with the U.S. DOGE Service. Now he’s the acting Social Security commissioner.

Social Security beneficiaries "already have had to contend with delays accessing service, both on the agency's 1-800 line and in person at SSA field offices, thanks to chronic underfunding from the U.S. Congress," Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told ThinkAdvisor Monday.

The acting head of the Social Security Administration told a meeting of senior staff and legal-aid lawyers that Elon Musk’s federal cost-cutting task force “will make mistakes” as it pushes the agency to cut thousands of jobs and dramatically slash spending.