04-12-2025, 07:06 PM
US Social Security moves public comms to X amid DOGE-led job cuts — Report
<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5NjI2ODQtNTZmNi03ZTg0LWI2NGItNTRkM2RjMjc5M2Fl.jpg"></p><p><p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5NjI2ODQtNTZmNi03ZTg0LWI2NGItNTRkM2RjMjc5M2Fl.jpg" alt="US Social Security moves public comms to X amid DOGE-led job cuts — Report"></p><p>The US Social Security Administration (SSA) will move all public communications to the X social media platform amid sweeping workforce cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by X owner Elon Musk. <p>According to anonymous sources who spoke with <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.wired.com/story/social-security-administration-regional-office-elon-musk-x/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">WIRED</a>, the government agency will no longer issue its customary letters and press releases to communicate changes to the public, instead relying on X as its primary form of public-facing communication. </p><p>The shift comes as the SSA <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-announces-workforce-and-organization-plans/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">downsizes</a> its workforce from 57,000 employees to roughly 50,000 to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency. The agency issued this <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.ssa.gov/socialmedia/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.ssa.gov/socialmedia/">statement</a> in February 2025:</p><blockquote>“SSA has operated with a regional structure consisting of 10 offices, which is no longer sustainable. The agency will reduce the regional structure in all agency components down to four regions. The organizational structure at Headquarters also is outdated and inefficient.”</blockquote><p>Elon Musk, the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-slash-gov-t-doge" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">head of DOGE</a>, has <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891557463377490431" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">accused</a> the Social Security system of distributing billions of dollars in wrongful payments, a claim <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare/">echoed</a> by the White House. Musk's comments sparked intense <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/SenFettermanPA/status/1891541695856103803" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">debate</a> about the future of the retirement program and sustainable government spending.</p><figure><img alt="US Government, United States, Elon Musk" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/019626be-154e-746f-811c-dd7baa16b4a2" title=""><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891350795452654076" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891350795452654076"><em>Elon Musk</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p><em><strong>Related: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-says-he-found-magic-money-computers-federal-government-audit-doge" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Musk says he found ‘magic money computers’ printing money ‘out of thin air’</strong></em></a></p><h2>DOGE targets US government agencies in efficiency push</h2><p>The <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/dogecoin-rally-musk-doge-agency-launch" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Department of Government Efficiency</a> is an unofficial government agency tasked with identifying and curbing allegedly wasteful public spending through budget and personnel cuts.</p><p>In March, DOGE began probing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-doge-sec" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">gained access to its internal systems</a>, including data repositories.</p><p>SEC officials signaled their cooperation with DOGE and said the regulatory agency would work closely with it to provide any relevant information requested.</p><figure><img alt="US Government, United States, Elon Musk" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/019626c2-18d4-7652-94e7-52f2c2bfafb2" title=""><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Musk and Trump discuss curbing public spending and eliminating government waste. Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0f-ZAVOoPk" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0f-ZAVOoPk"><em>The White house</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p>DOGE also proposed <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/doge-slashing-internal-revenue-service-staff-20" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">slashing the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) workforce</a> by 20%. The workforce reduction could impact up to 6,800 IRS employees and be implemented by May 15 — exactly one month after 2024 federal taxes are due.</p><p>Musk’s and the DOGE's proposals for sweeping spending cuts are not limited to slashing budgets and reducing the size of the federal workforce.</p><p>DOGE is reportedly exploring <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-exploring-blockchain-curb-us-government-spending" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">blockchain to curb public spending</a> by placing the entire government budget onchain to promote accountability and transparency.</p><p><em><strong>Magazine: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/elon-musk-proposal-to-run-government-on-usa-chain-has-some-issues/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle</strong></em></a></p><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="consulting_newsletter" label="Subscription Form: Consulting Newsletter"></template></p>
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/social-se...er_inbound
<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5NjI2ODQtNTZmNi03ZTg0LWI2NGItNTRkM2RjMjc5M2Fl.jpg"></p><p><p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5NjI2ODQtNTZmNi03ZTg0LWI2NGItNTRkM2RjMjc5M2Fl.jpg" alt="US Social Security moves public comms to X amid DOGE-led job cuts — Report"></p><p>The US Social Security Administration (SSA) will move all public communications to the X social media platform amid sweeping workforce cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by X owner Elon Musk. <p>According to anonymous sources who spoke with <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.wired.com/story/social-security-administration-regional-office-elon-musk-x/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">WIRED</a>, the government agency will no longer issue its customary letters and press releases to communicate changes to the public, instead relying on X as its primary form of public-facing communication. </p><p>The shift comes as the SSA <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-announces-workforce-and-organization-plans/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">downsizes</a> its workforce from 57,000 employees to roughly 50,000 to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency. The agency issued this <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.ssa.gov/socialmedia/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.ssa.gov/socialmedia/">statement</a> in February 2025:</p><blockquote>“SSA has operated with a regional structure consisting of 10 offices, which is no longer sustainable. The agency will reduce the regional structure in all agency components down to four regions. The organizational structure at Headquarters also is outdated and inefficient.”</blockquote><p>Elon Musk, the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-slash-gov-t-doge" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">head of DOGE</a>, has <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891557463377490431" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">accused</a> the Social Security system of distributing billions of dollars in wrongful payments, a claim <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare/">echoed</a> by the White House. Musk's comments sparked intense <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/SenFettermanPA/status/1891541695856103803" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">debate</a> about the future of the retirement program and sustainable government spending.</p><figure><img alt="US Government, United States, Elon Musk" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/019626be-154e-746f-811c-dd7baa16b4a2" title=""><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891350795452654076" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891350795452654076"><em>Elon Musk</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p><em><strong>Related: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-says-he-found-magic-money-computers-federal-government-audit-doge" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Musk says he found ‘magic money computers’ printing money ‘out of thin air’</strong></em></a></p><h2>DOGE targets US government agencies in efficiency push</h2><p>The <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/dogecoin-rally-musk-doge-agency-launch" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Department of Government Efficiency</a> is an unofficial government agency tasked with identifying and curbing allegedly wasteful public spending through budget and personnel cuts.</p><p>In March, DOGE began probing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-doge-sec" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">gained access to its internal systems</a>, including data repositories.</p><p>SEC officials signaled their cooperation with DOGE and said the regulatory agency would work closely with it to provide any relevant information requested.</p><figure><img alt="US Government, United States, Elon Musk" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/019626c2-18d4-7652-94e7-52f2c2bfafb2" title=""><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Musk and Trump discuss curbing public spending and eliminating government waste. Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0f-ZAVOoPk" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0f-ZAVOoPk"><em>The White house</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p>DOGE also proposed <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/doge-slashing-internal-revenue-service-staff-20" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">slashing the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) workforce</a> by 20%. The workforce reduction could impact up to 6,800 IRS employees and be implemented by May 15 — exactly one month after 2024 federal taxes are due.</p><p>Musk’s and the DOGE's proposals for sweeping spending cuts are not limited to slashing budgets and reducing the size of the federal workforce.</p><p>DOGE is reportedly exploring <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/elon-musk-exploring-blockchain-curb-us-government-spending" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">blockchain to curb public spending</a> by placing the entire government budget onchain to promote accountability and transparency.</p><p><em><strong>Magazine: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/elon-musk-proposal-to-run-government-on-usa-chain-has-some-issues/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle</strong></em></a></p><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="consulting_newsletter" label="Subscription Form: Consulting Newsletter"></template></p>
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/social-se...er_inbound