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DOGE is flirting with the 'third rail' of American politics — errors could disrupt Social Security benefits

Christy Bieber

Published: March 18, 2025 3:30 pm

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There are few things in the United States more universally popular than Social Security. In fact, 87% of Americans agree it should be a priority regardless of the state of budget deficits, and people across all parties want to keep Social Security strong, with 90% of Democrats, 86% of Republicans, and 88% of independents stating it should be a priority, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security. 

The program’s solid approval has earned it a nickname: The “third rail” of American politics because politicians touch it and their careers die. That’s why no substantive changes have been made to the program since the 1980s, and no one has really even tried to make major reforms since President George W. Bush explored the possibility of partially privatizing the program and faced strong public disapproval. 

That’s all changing now, though. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has set its sites on the Social Security Administration, and current and former employees from both parties are warning the consequences could be dire.

Former employees sound the alarm on Social Security workforce cuts

DOGE, which is headed up by Elon Musk, has been on a mission to reform Social Security along with other agencies that it believes are full of waste, fraud, and abuse.  These reforms to Social Security, so far, have included:

• Announcing plans to cut up to 12% of the workforce at the Social Security Administration even as the number of staff members is at a 50-year low. 
• Offering early retirement and other incentives worth up to $25,000 to the entire staff if they resign

The Administration released a statement about the changes, indicating that it is “identifying efficiencies and reducing costs, with a renewed focus on mission-critical work,” and stating that it is simply streamlining redundant management while remaining committed to providing Americans the help they need. 

However, Martin O’Malley, the most recent former Social Security commissioner under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., warned that “Everything they have done so far is breaking the agency’s ability to serve the public,” and Michael Astrue, a former agency commissioner appointed by President George W. Bush stated to the New York Times that he believes Musk’s actions have been “extremely destructive.”

The risk is that losing the institutional knowledge of the current workforce could interfere with the agency’s ability to deliver payments promptly, enroll new beneficiaries, and otherwise manage the sprawling retirement and disability benefit systems millions are counting on. 

The Trump Administration has promised there will be no cuts to benefits

Even as DOGE makes moves to reduce the number of workers at the Social Security Administration, the Trump Administration has reiterated that it plans no cuts to benefits. This is a promise that President Trump has made repeatedly on the campaign trail since 2016. 

Officials have also acknowledged that some of the systems in place at  Social Security are outdated and could be in need of reform, although making the necessary changes to modernize the system could reportedly cost as much as $2 billion and take as long as five years.  What Musk and DOGE are doing, however, is aiming to disrupt the status quo and usher in the type of change not usually seen in a clunky bureaucracy that tends to be resistant to sudden and quick shifts. 

It remains to be seen if their slashing of the workforce and their shock-and-awe approach ends up interfering with the smooth delivery of benefits, which could prompt outcry, or whether Musk and his crew will somehow survive their contact with the third-rail of politics and manage to find more efficient ways to operate government services that many believe have long been lacking without interfering with crucial services people are counting on.