Dudek said the billionaire Republican donor’s emissaries will “make mistakes” but pushed to give them access to the Social Security system that millions of Americans rely on.

Dudek was installed after former acting commissioner Michelle King resigned in February after refusing to give DOGE access to sensitive government data. By contrast, Dudek worked to give DOGE access to data even before getting his promotion.

Last week, the agency announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs despite ongoing staffing concerns and stretched resources affecting wait times and disability hearings.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who served as IRS commissioner under President Joe Biden, told CNBC on Monday that DOGE cuts could lead to a collapse of the Social Security system in one to three months.

“Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits,” O’Malley said, and advised people to save funds immediately.

DOGE’s actions come as rhetoric from Trump and Musk has increased concerns that an attack on Social Security—which was signed into law in 1935 by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt—could be imminent.

During his speech to a joint address of Congress on Tuesday, Trump repeated a lie from DOGE that millions of Social Security payments are being made to people over 160 years old. The lie has been repeatedly debunked. In reality, the old computer system maintaining agency records inaccurately shows recipient ages, and virtually none of those people receive payments. But Trump’s rhetoric helps to undermine trust in the system.

Similarly, in an interview with conservative podcaster Joe Rogan, Musk repeated the longtime conservative lie that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.” Invoking such a fiction has often been used as an excuse to attack the system. Musk is the richest person in the world, and unlike most Americans, he has no need for Social Security savings. Killing the program would affect them, but he (and Trump) would be unscathed.

DOGE isn’t being welcomed with open arms throughout the government. On Wednesday, employees of the U.S. African Development Foundation blocked DOGE representatives from accessing their headquarters in Washington, D.C., even as DOGE employees tried to get into the agency’s data systems.

Following revelations of DOGE attacks on multiple systems and the bigoted beliefs of some on the DOGE team, disapproval of the organization has been rising. But the threat to foundational American institutions continues.