Social Security acting head abruptly exits after dust-up with Elon Musk's DOGE: report

The acting head of the Social Security Administration abruptly left the agency following a clash with Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, according to a report.

Michelle King, the agency's acting commissioner left her position over the weekend following a dust-up over Musk's DOGE trying to access sensitive government records, three people familiar with her exit told The Washington Post on Monday evening.

King was named to the role last month.

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Leland Dudek, overseer of the agency's fraud investigation office, has been appointed acting commissioner, while the Senate vets acting commissioner Frank Bisignano. President Donald Trump's nominee for the role, according to the report.

The Social Security Administration is an independent agency that manages the massive social insurance program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. The agency also assigns Social Security numbers and runs the Supplemental Security Income program.

Nancy Altman, president of the left-leaning Social Security Works, told the Post the dispute stemmed from DOGE's effort to access "SSA’s sensitive files — the same way they’re trying to do at Labor and Treasury — and the acting commissioner wouldn’t give it, and she was replaced."

“There is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is,” she told the newspaper.