‘A disruptive effect’: How slashing staff at the Social Security Administration is sparking fears the system could collapse

Millions of Americans could soon feel the impact of the deep DOGE-driven staffing cuts being planned at the Social Security Administration.

(CNN) — Millions of Americans could soon feel the impact of the deep staffing cuts being planned at the Social Security Administration, which is undergoing a massive reorganization that the acting commissioner has acknowledged is being steered by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The loss of experienced employees who manage Social Security’s fragile and interdependent web of computer systems will likely leave the agency vulnerable to technical outages and, potentially, interrupt the benefit payments that are sent to more than 73 million retirees, people with disabilities and others, Martin O’Malley, who served as commissioner under the Biden administration, told CNN. The former Maryland governor predicted a meltdown could occur within 90 days, though other employees and experts were unsure of the timing even as they agreed the risk exists. “Everything they’re doing is driving this agency to system collapse,” O’Malley said of Social Security’s new management. “It will lead to interruptions in service, and that will ultimately cascade into more frequent system interruptions for the processing of claims, ultimately leading to system collapse and eventually the interruption of benefits.” The agency’s overhaul is being led by acting commissioner Leland Dudek, though he has admitted that he’s not the one actually making the decisions, according to an attendee at a nearly two-hour meeting Dudek held with staffers, legal aid attorneys and other advocates earlier this week. “People are coming in from the outside. They’re unfamiliar with the nuances of our agency,” the attendee said Dudek responded when asked who is in charge. “It’s DOGE – not the DOGE kids, it’s the DOGE management.”