The acting head of the Social Security Administration (SSA) has resigned over the investigations into the federal agency by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Michelle King quit her job at SSA over efforts by DOGE to access government records, according to reports.
The news comes as DOGE chief Elon Musk released shocking figures on Monday to expose explosive findings in the SSA’s database.
The Washington Post reported that three people familiar with King’s departure said on Monday that she stepped down from her position.
According to the report, King quit after a disagreement with Musk’s DOGE team.
In response to King’s departure, Trump reportedly appointed Leland Dudek to lead the agency.
Dudek will run the agency while the president’s nominee to serve as commissioner of the SSA, Frank Bisignano, is vetted by federal lawmakers.
Principal Deputy Press Secretary at the White House, Harrison Fields, said the administration expects Bisignano to be “swiftly confirmed in the coming weeks.”
In a statement, without naming the replacement, Fields said:
“In the meantime, the agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner.
“President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long.”
The three individuals who spoke to the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity reportedly told the publication that Dudek posted positive remarks about DOGE’s efforts to seek out fraud and cut costs across federal agencies.
Musk is leading DOGE to aggressively slash federal government waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds.
DOGE was created via executive order and is a temporary organization within the White House that will spend 18 months carrying out its mission.
One of the department’s most recent targets is the SSA.
The SSA was created by the Social Security Act under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 and tasked with establishing a federal benefits system for older Americans.
Musk revealed that DOGE has found alarming levels of fraud and wasteful spending at SSA.
As Slay News previously reported, Musk revealed Monday that millions of people over the age of 100 are listed in a Social Security database and are recorded as living.
“According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!” Musk posted, adding a couple of rolling-on-the-floor laughing emojis.
“Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security.”
His post features a chart indicating there are more than 20 million listed with ages 100 and higher.
The database includes more than 3.9 million in the 130-139 age range, more than 3.5 million in the 140-149 range, and more than 1.3 million in the 150-159 range.
It even shows a “living” person listed in the age range of 360 to 369.
According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!
Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ltb06VX98Z
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025
While the U.S. population count in the 2020 census was more than 331 million, the count of people ages 100 and older was just under 90,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
The oldest American citizen to have ever lived was Sarah Knauss (1880 – 1999).
Knauss reached the age of 119 years and 97 days.
