06/16/2025

Senators Warn DOGE’s SSA Work Could Break Benefits

The senators called the “ultimate goal” to upgrade IT “a worthy one”

Democratic senators have concerns that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a nongovernmental task force, could break the Social Security Administration's (SSA) tech infrastructure.

In a new letter addressed to SSA commissioner Frank Bisignano, senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden say that DOGE’s plans to "hastily upgrade" Social Security IT systems could disrupt the delivery of benefits or result in mass data losses. The warning comes after WIRED reported in March that DOGE officials were planning to rebuild SSA's code base in a matter of months. The move, originally spearheaded by Steve Davis, one of Elon Musk's key lieutenants and a leader at DOGE, could result in total system collapse, experts told WIRED at the time.

"Put simply, DOGE has already limited access to benefits by damaging SSA's technological infrastructure—and this rushed IT modernization plan can only exacerbate those problems," the senators wrote in their letter.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.