Top Senate Democrats want answers from the Social Security Administration (SSA) after learning the agency may fire half the staff in a department that keeps the entire system running.
In a letter sent on April 13, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Ron Wyden told SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek they’re alarmed by reports of upcoming cuts to the Office of the Chief Investment Officer (OCIO)—the agency’s core tech team.
The senators said OCIO is responsible for protecting sensitive data, processing benefit claims, and keeping the SSA’s website and online portal operational.
They called the proposed 50% staff cut “intentional – and dangerous” and warned it could block tens of millions of Americans from accessing their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
The lawmakers also said the website is already unstable and that gutting the tech department will make things worse.
Senators blame D.O.G.E and Trump for targeting union tech staff
According to the letter, SSA’s systems have had “ongoing issues” for months. On March 31, users logged in and saw blank payment histories or messages falsely telling them they weren’t receiving benefits.
Some were locked out of their accounts entirely. This wasn’t the first failure. The senators said the site had crashed repeatedly before. They also said field offices are experiencing serious glitches that make it harder for staff to help people face-to-face.
Warren, Gillibrand, and Wyden warned that cutting OCIO would wipe out the only group that understands the agency’s outdated programming language. They said OCIO workers are the last line, keeping the system functional. They’re unionized. And that’s where D.O.G.E, short for the Department of Government Efficiency, comes in.
SSA was already short-staffed when Trump returned to office. The senators said the agency hit a 50-year staffing low under his last term and, since then, announced plans to cut over 12% of its workforce. The letter asked Dudek to stop OCIO firings and fix SSA systems immediately.
“We ask that you immediately cease all OCIO firings and act swiftly to restore SSA system and website functionality to prevent any further disruption of Social Security beneficiaries’ access to their account information and benefits,” the letter said.
Agency faces more pressure as workforce cuts and platform switch exposed
This isn’t the only letter the senators have sent. On April 10, 21 Democratic senators, led by Gillibrand and Wyden, demanded that the Trump administration stop attacking the SSA through field office closures, staff cuts, and reduced phone services.
Lawmakers are now launching what they’re calling a “war room” to fight the changes, and the situation got messier last week. A report from WIRED showed that SSA will no longer use press releases or “dear colleague” letters to update the public or advocacy groups.
Instead, the agency will communicate only through X, the platform owned by Elon Musk. That would make it harder for people without X accounts to get information about their benefits.
The same report said SSA may cut up to 87% of its regional workforce, gutting teams that handle local support across the country. That sparked fresh outrage, especially after all the system failures and login problems.
White House spokesperson Elizabeth Huston called the report “misleading.” She said SSA is still reaching out to beneficiaries and stakeholders and denied that any official workforce reduction has happened. “The Social Security Administration is actively communicating,” Huston told CNBC.
Huston also said regional workers aren’t being fired—they’re being moved to “front-line help” positions to improve service delivery. She said the goal is to focus resources “where they are most needed.” Huston also added, “President Trump will continue to always protect Social Security.”
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