Staffers in Social Security offices throughout the country are both furious and distraught by the fast-moving and disorganized dismantling of the government agency by the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
According to a report from the Washington Post, the agency is now plagued by unpaid bills, endless meetings for managers to be instructed on daily outside directives and office space issues that have department heads pondering placing staffers in supply closets.
The report notes that on Tuesday acting SSA commissioner Leland Dudek, previously an obscure analyst with no previous management experience, told senior staffers that DOGE employees are making mistakes that will be corrected and added, "I am relying on longtime career people to inform my work, but I am receiving decisions that are made without my input. I have to effectuate those decisions.”
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That followed his announcing plans to "slash 7,000 jobs, a cut of more than 12 percent," the Post is reporting before adding, "An exodus of senior executives on his watch — some voluntary, others forced — is fast depleting decades of expertise. And this week, the long-struggling disability benefits system came under threat as backlogged state offices that review claims were told there would be no more overtime or hiring."
The report adds that some offices are unable to pay phone bills due to a DOGE freeze on credit cards, and that other offices are having to absorb the call volume causing massive delays in processing retirement claims as calls go unanswered.
According to one employee, "Morale is in the toilet. We all know what DOGE wants to do, which is just break us, so they can privatize us.”
“It’s just chaos, people are terrified, and no one knows anything, including our supervisors,” another claimed.
Another 30-year veteran of the department lamented, "No one really knows what they’re doing, no one has answers, and at some point something is going to break.”
You can read more details right here.