Social Security to Move Comms to Musk's X After DOGE Cuts
That's one way to make the boss happy.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is cutting public affairs staffers at the Social Security Administration's regional offices and will move its communications to Elon Musk's X platform, WIRED and the Federal News Network reported Friday.
That means the press and public will have to rely on X instead of press releases, emails, and regional public affairs staffers to receive updates or information about the administration.
SSA staffers will also no longer send 'dear colleague' letters to advocate groups or the public. The last Dear Colleague letter archived on the administration's website was posted on March 27.
The SSA Midwest-West Regional Commissioner Linda Kerr-Davis informed her staff of the switch to X in a Thursday phone call.
'The agency will be using X to communicate to the press and the public—formerly known as Twitter,' Kerr-Davis said, according to the Federal News Network. 'This will become our communication mechanism.'
Some employees have sounded the alarm that those reliant on SSA tend to be elderly and may not be tech savvy enough—or eager to—sign up for a social media platform just to receive updates about their benefits. X currently requires users to have an account to view any posts.
'Do they really expect senior citizens will join this platform?' asked one current SSA employee, according to WIRED.
Another staffer called out the obvious, given that Musk—who remains the de facto DOGE director—also owns X: 'How isn't this a conflict of interest?'
Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and rebranded it as X.
'If you're used to getting press releases and Dear Colleague letters, you might want to subscribe to the official SSA X account so that you can stay up to date with agency news,' Kerr-Davis told her staff. 'I know this probably sounds very foreign to you—it did to me as well—and not what we are used to, but we are in different times now.'
That official SSA account on X had 138,000 followers as of Friday afternoon. That is less than one percent of the 70 million Americans who are on Social Security.
The Washington Post reported last week that the SSA had cut 7,000 jobs since February, with more cuts expected. Sources told WIRED the SSA will soon ax its regional office workforce by roughly 90 percent.
Liz Huston, a White House spokesperson, told WIRED its reporting on regional office layoffs was 'misleading.' Instead of layoffs, she said, the SSA is moving regional staffers to become 'front-line help,' which is part of it 'allocating finite resources where they are most needed.'
'President Trump will continue to always protect Social Security,' she added.
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