r/TrueReddit • u/propublica_ • 1d ago
Politics The Untold Saga of What Happened When DOGE Stormed Social Security
https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-doge-social-security-takeover-leland-dudek132
u/propublica_ 1d ago
DOGE has ignored urgently needed reforms and upgrades at the Social Security Administration, according to dozens of insiders and 15 hours of candid interviews with the former acting chief of the agency, Leland Dudek, who admits he sometimes made things worse.
The DOGE team was acting like “a bunch of people who didn’t know what they were doing, with ideas of how government should run — thinking it should work like a McDonald’s or a bank — screaming all the time,” Dudek said.
Dudek is the first agency head to speak in detail on the record about what it is like to be thrust into such an important position under Trump. He told ProPublica that he decided to speak because he wishes that “those who govern” would have more frank and honest conversations with the public.
Some highlights from our story that published this morning:
- Missed Opportunity: Some Social Security officials said they welcomed DOGE — the agency needs a technological overhaul — only to see DOGE ignore them and prioritize quick (often empty) wins.
- Internal Revolt: Dudek, the agency’s then acting chief, helped DOGE at first, then tried to resist when he saw what it was doing, Dudek said in 15 hours of candid interviews with ProPublica.
- DOGE Lives On: Multiple former DOGErs have taken permanent roles at the Social Security Administration, and Senate-confirmed Commissioner Frank Bisignano has embraced its approach.
The DOGE team, and Bisignano, have prioritized scoring quick wins that allow them to post triumphant tweets and press releases, while squandering the chance for systemic change at an agency that genuinely needs it, according to interviews with more than 35 current or recently departed SSA officials and staff, who spoke on the condition of anonymity mostly out of fear of retaliation by the Trump administration, and a review of hundreds of pages of internal documents, emails and court records.
In a statement, a Social Security Administration spokesperson said that Bisignano has made “notable” initial progress and that “the initiatives underway will continue to strengthen service delivery and enhance the integrity and efficiency of our systems.” The statement asserted that “under President Trump’s leadership and his commitment to protect and preserve Social Security, Commissioner Bisignano is strengthening Social Security and the programs it provides for Americans now and in the future.
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u/sulaymanf 1d ago
This was an excellent read, but then again all ProPublica articles are always high quality.
We’re doing to see stories like this for decades to come, lamenting how we had a functional agency in government that Trump ruined for short term gain. What DOGE does was like the Mongols burning down the library of Alexandria.
What’s the outcome? Poorer Americans, rising death rates, but it’s so insidious that it will go unnoticed aside from tedious print articles.
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u/Eternitywaiting 10h ago
Comparisons of Mongols burning Alexandria library and DOGE was on my mind too. I saw that connection immediately.
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u/Synaps4 1d ago
This guy was the definition of a useful idiot. The writing was on the wall about DOGE and the administration long before they ever knocked on his door, and he thought they might help...then when they weren't helping, he simped to Trump thinking he might get rewarded for it, and of course he didn't. He sent the emails firing thousands of competent people instead of finding ways to protect them and the agency's mission.
Sure, now he sees what a trainwreck it was...after the wreck has happened. He tried to slow it down but only after watching the predictable destruction. Too little, too late.
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u/Ardnabrak 1d ago
At least he is speaking up now instead of just disappearing silently in shame. There are a lot of people that fell for the charade but now feel dumb. They don't want to advertise their stupidity and get ridiculed. We need these people to speak up honestly so that those still in the cult's grip have a chance to see the truth.
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u/Synaps4 1d ago edited 23h ago
Thats true but it's hard to be forgiving and accepting for someone who has no excuse for not knowing better and was an active participant in hurting people. Presumably in the scramble to change social security benefits a not insignificant number of the elderly were put into poverty or worse.
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u/Neckwrecker 20h ago
I'm certainly not forgiving Leland any time soon but I don't find the article exculpatory and I was happy to hear his "side" of the story. He's still a traitor and a tool.
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u/ShakataGaNai 1d ago
ProPub, you missed a perfect op to put Elon's real SSN in the header image. After all, his team tried to (or possibly succeeded) in stealing all American's information, so it'd only be fair.
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u/outerworldLV 1d ago
Impossible. There’s no untold anything about that PR stunt. In fact there’s even a bunch of fictional crap written about this lack of protection from our unqualified government officials.
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u/unidentifiable 1d ago
What in the name of AI Slop is up that banner image though?
Some people have 3 fingers, some 4, the guy in red has gorilla hands that could palm a basketball, but the fat guy has a tiny-ass thumb. The phone is pointed off into nowhere, the faces look like they were pasted on, and the perspective is so out of whack that I can't even begin to understand it.
Holy shit.
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u/Natural-Injury-8917 20h ago
“For all the controversy DOGE has generated, its time at the Social Security Administration has not amounted to looming armageddon, as some Democrats warn.” This shit remains to be seen especially with the regard to the recent SSA whistleblower allegations regarding security of our fucking sensitive data.
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