President Donald Trump has appointed a new acting commissioner for the Social Security Administration following Michelle King’s resignation, after she chose to depart rather than grant billionaire Elon Musk’s task force access to sensitive data concerning millions of Americans.
King, who dedicated over three decades to the agency before taking the role of acting director last month, left the position during the holiday weekend. According to sources familiar with the situation, she refused to provide the Musk-led initiative aimed at reducing federal spending and personnel, known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), access to a central database containing sensitive information on income, addresses, retirement benefits, and sometimes even medical records for anyone with a Social Security number. These sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
No immediate comment was available from King.
The Washington Post was the first to report her departure.
Trump has appointed Leland Dudek, who manages an anti-fraud division within the Social Security Administration, to serve as the acting commissioner. Reports indicate that Dudek previously shared pro-DOGE content on his LinkedIn profile, which has since been taken down. Dudek did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to The 19th, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said, “President Trump has nominated the highly skilled and capable Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration, and we expect his confirmation to be swift in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the agency will be temporarily led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert.”
Social Security is a federal program offering financial assistance to retired individuals, the disabled, or survivors of contributors who paid into the system through payroll taxes. In recent years, women have comprised over half of Social Security beneficiaries aged 62 and older, and they constitute 95 percent of survivor beneficiaries.
This program is a vital income source for older Americans, particularly those without employer-sponsored pensions or retirement savings. Monthly benefits depend on work history, and women receive average benefits around 80 percent of what men get, which is partially attributed to lower wages, shorter work histories, and time taken off to care for children or elderly parents.
Unmarried women and widows tend to depend more on Social Security for their income than men or couples. Over half of elderly households report that Social Security benefits account for over half of their income, while in a quarter of these households, benefits represent at least 90 percent. Notably, American women have an average life expectancy approximately six years longer than men.
During his reelection campaign, Trump stated he would not reduce Social Security benefits but aimed to eliminate waste and fraud within the agency.
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared with Fox News that Trump had tasked Musk and his team with identifying fraud within the agency. “They haven’t reviewed the accounts thoroughly, but they suspect there are tens of millions of deceased individuals still receiving fraudulent Social Security payments,” she mentioned.
“If you have honestly paid into the system, you will continue to receive your Social Security payments,” Leavitt affirmed, adding that Musk’s team would focus on identifying duplicate payments, payments made to those who are deceased, and other forms of fraud.
DOGE’s attempt to access sensitive data from the Social Security Administration coincided with its efforts to obtain detailed financial records on millions of individual taxpayers, businesses, and non-profits from the Internal Revenue Service.
On Monday, thousands of Americans demonstrated in various cities, including Washington, New York, and Boston, voicing their opposition to Trump’s early actions in office and the significant influence Musk holds within the administration.
