The Interim Commissioner for the United States Social Security Administration resigned allegedly for differences on requests from the Government Efficiency Department to access the information of US beneficiaries.
The Interim Commissioner for the United States Social Security Administration (SSA, in English) resigned allegedly for differences on requests from the Government Efficiency Department to access the information of US beneficiaries, according to two familiar sources that were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The departure of the Interine Commissioner Michelle King of the agency during the weekend takes place after more than 30 years of service, the AP agency reported.
The White House replaced King with Laland Dudek, who currently works at the SSA, said people familiar with changes in the agency.
The White House spokesman Harrison Fields issued a statement on Monday night saying: “President Trump has nominated the highly qualified and talented Frank Bisignano to direct the administration of Social Security, and we hope he is quickly confirmed in the next weeks.
Fields added: “President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified people who dedicate themselves to working on behalf of the US people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for too long.”
The press secretary of the Republican Administration, Karoline Leavitt, defended Musk's efforts on Sunday, saying that President Donald Trump had ordered him Doge to identify fraud in the Social Security Administration.
“They have not yet investigated the books, but they suspect that there are dozens of millions of deceased people who are receiving fraudulent social security payments,” he told Fox News. Leavitt said Doge aimed to identify duplicate payments and end them, identify the payments that go to deceased people and protect the integrity of the system.
The King departure from the Administration is one of several exits from high -ranking officials concerned with the possible illegal access of Doge personnel to private taxpayers. The administration has insisted that there is no legal conflict in the commission's work and that the information of the Americans is safe.
The future of Social Security has become a first -order political issue and was an important point of discord in the 2024 elections.
Approximately 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, receive social security benefits.
(With information from The Associated Press)