Speaking with Fox News Channel host Brett Baier about what the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is doing to protect Social Security from fraudsters who are pilfering the program and draining it in a way that could cause big problems, DOGE head Elon Musk noted that DOGE’s work will lead to better benefits for seniors.
Those comments from Mr. Musk about the future of Social Security came when he and a bevy of top DOGE personnel sat down with FOX News Channel chief political anchor Bret Baier for an interview that aired in the evening on Thursday, March 27. While the interview was about DOGE and its work generally, one of the key issues discussed was Social Security and how the Trump Administration, via DOGE, is protecting the critical pension program.
That came up when DOGE staffer Aram Moghaddass explained how DOGE is trying to protect the program from fraudsters so that legitimate recipients get what they deserve. He began, “I’ll say the two improvements that we’re trying to make to Social Security are helping people that legitimately get benefits protect them from fraud that they experience every day on a routine basis, and also make the experience better.”
Continuing, the DOGE employee noted that nearly half of the calls the program gets are attempts at fraud. He said, “And I’ll give you one example. At Social Security, one of the first things we learned is that they get phone calls every day from people trying to change direct deposit information. So when you want to change your bank account, you can call Social Security. We learned 40% of the phone calls that they get are from fraudsters. 40%, that’s right, almost half.”
That’s when Mr. Musk chimed in and noted how the program was being drained via fraudulent programs. He said, “They steal people’s Social Security, is what happens. They call in, they claim to be a retiree and they convince the Social Security person on the phone to change where the money is flowing. It actually goes to some fraudster.”
He added that the program is far from rare, occurring nearly all day, every day, and thus is a challenge that DOGE is working tirelessly to solve. He said, “This is happening all day, every day. And then somebody doesn’t receive their Social Security, it’s because of all the fraud loopholes in the Social Security system.”
That is when Mr. Musk made his comment about how real retirees who ought to be receiving Social Security benefits will be aided by DOGE’s tireless work on their behalf, saying, “In fact, what we’re doing will help their benefits. Legitimate people, as a result of the work of DOGE, will receive more Social Security, not less.”
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He then reiterated that same point, explaining that he thinks the legitimate recipients will, once the fraudsters are cut out, receive more money from the program. He said, “I want to emphasize that: as a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money, not less money.” Concluding, he added, “I want to emphasize that point, and let the record show that I said this, and it will be proven out to be true.”
Watch him here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video