Protecting Social Security or Preparing to Sell It Off?

I am writing with deep concern over Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek’s threat to effectively shut down the Social Security Administration in response to a court order blocking Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) from accessing the private, non-anonymized data of millions of Americans. Dudek stated he would “turn it off” and let the courts “figure out how they want to run a federal agency.” That kind of language—holding Social Security hostage unless DOGE gets access—sounds an awful lot like blackmail. What’s more disturbing is how this may tie into Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s federal overhaul blueprint backed by the Trump administration. On page 260, the plan explicitly outlines steps toward privatizing Social Security, introducing “competition” into the benefits system. So the question becomes: Is this data grab about fraud prevention—or about preparing for privatization? Why does DOGE need access to Americans’ Social Security numbers, medical records, mental health info, and income history—when a judge has ruled this violates federal privacy laws? And why is cutting off benefits to 70+ million Americans even being floated as a legitimate response? Congress must investigate this immediately. Social Security is not a political weapon or a tech billionaire’s sandbox. If there’s a plan to dismantle it behind closed doors, the American people deserve to know—before the switch is flipped.