Social Security Website Crashes Repeatedly After Elon Musk’s DOGE Orders Staff Cuts

Many Americans who rely on Social Security are facing major disruptions as the agency’s website suffers repeated crashes, login failures and service outages. These issues come at a time when the agency is urging more users to shift online for services that include retirement claims, benefit checks and disability assistance. The outages appear to be caused by untested fraud detection software that overloads the system during high-traffic periods. 

The mounting technical failures coincide with aggressive staff downsizing spearheaded by DOGE, led by Elon Musk. The DOGE directive has already resulted in over 7,000 job losses, with plans to eliminate thousands more. Notably, the agency’s IT department is being slashed by half, severely reducing its capacity to maintain critical systems like its website. 

Trump recently told his cabinet that Musk would leave the administration in the coming weeks after his disastrous loss in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

These issues have hit vulnerable populations, like recipients of Supplemental Security Income, who include people with disabilities and low-income seniors, the hardest. Such recipients were shocked to see error messages falsely claiming their benefits had stopped. Although payments were eventually deposited, the misinformation caused widespread fear.

Field offices are also feeling the strain. Employees report chaotic scenes as digital scheduling tools crash, forcing staff to use handwritten notes and manual processes, drastically increasing wait times and lowering efficiency.

The Social Security Administration says it’s investigating the cause of the outages, but customer frustration continues to grow. One reason for the network crashes could be rooted in changes initiated by the Trump administration. The agency recently expanded a contract with a credit-reporting company tasked with verifying users’ identities through personal data like addresses and names. These enhanced fraud detection tools were added earlier in the claims process without proper testing, leading to surges in verification checks and overwhelming the system.

With trust in the system eroding, many are demanding a pause on staffing cuts and a renewed focus on keeping critical services accessible and reliable.

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Article by Evelyn Qiu