Viral Waste
The Times investigation found that Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency first approached U.S.A.I.D. as a source of useful anecdotes of what it called “viral waste” - government spending that seemed foolish, and could be exploited to support the case for cuts.From the start, DOGE has declared that its mission has included fighting fraud, and there are now multiple examples where DOGE teams have been directed to go into agencies and find something salacious that Elon Musk or Trump could tweet about as confirmation of the view that government is riddled with waste and fraud. Unfortunately, many of these examples turn out to be DOGE misunderstanding the data rather than finding a problem. You might notice that many of these examples are from the Social Security Administration, illustrating the vicious cycle that is kicked off by DOGE’s conviction that waste and fraud are rampant. An initial accusation leads to a swarm of DOGE engineers descending on the agency. Those engineers then make further mistakes when trying to find other fraud. Which leads to more DOGE pressure on the agency, with experts sidelined and ignored when they attempt to correct the record. All of this leads to wasted work and deliberate falsehoods as DOGE makes claims without any investigation and then refuses to admit that it made a mistake.
Systems
NUMIDENT: Numerical Identification System
2/10/25 5 users
NUMIDENT files that have been extracted from SSA systems, these contain SSNs for everybody
NUMIDENT: Numerical Identification System
2/10/25 5 users
NUMIDENT files that have been extracted from SSA systems, these contain SSNs for everybody
| : | 2/10/25- Akash Bobba (read access) grant by Mike Russo |
| : | 3/17/25- Jon Koval, Marko Elez, Payton Rehling (read access) grant by Mike Russo |
| : | c.6/23/25- Edward Coristine (read access) |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 22-10 Court Document, 3/07/25 |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 121-3 Court Document, 4/09/25 |
| Source: | ‘Big Balls’ Is Now at the Social Security Administration Wired Magazine, 6/26/25 |
| Source: | Unchecked and Unaccountable: How DOGE Jeopardizes Americans' Data Without Regard for Law and Congress Senate Homeland Security and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, 9/25/25 |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
PSSNAP: Phone Social Security Number Application Process data
3/14/25 2 users with elevated access
SSN application process data (Phone). This is a data extract file rather than an independent system.
PSSNAP: Phone Social Security Number Application Process data
3/14/25 2 users with elevated access
SSN application process data (Phone). This is a data extract file rather than an independent system.
| : | 3/14/25- Payton Rehling, Aram Moghaddassi (read-write access) grant by Leland Dudek |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 121-3 Court Document, 4/09/25 |
| Source: | Protected Whistleblower Disclosure of Charles Borges Regarding Violation of Laws, Rules & Regulations, Abuse of Authority, Gross Mismanagement, and Substantial and Specific Threat to Public Health and Safety at the Social Security Administration Government Accountability Project, 8/08/25 |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
SPS: Secure Payment System
1/28/25-2/06/25 2 users (1 elevated)
Used by federal government agencies to securely create, certify, and submit payments to the Fiscal Service.
SPS: Secure Payment System
1/28/25-2/06/25 2 users (1 elevated)
Used by federal government agencies to securely create, certify, and submit payments to the Fiscal Service.
| : | 1/28/25-2/06/25 Marko Elez (source-code access) |
| : | 2/05/25-2/06/25 Marko Elez (read-write access) |
| Source: | American Federation of Teachers v. Bessent, doc 27-3 Court Document, 2/17/25 |
| DOGE Project: | Spending, Fraud |
Events
1/20/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| GSA Detailed To: DOGE Edward Coristine 1/20/25-6/09/25 | |
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 211-5 Court Document, 4/15/26 |
| Source: | The Authors Guild/American Council of Learned Societies v. National Endowment for the Humanities, doc 122-2 Court Document, 2/17/26 |
1/21/25
Appointed:
Marko Elez starts as Special Advisor (IT&M) at Treas..
Appointed:
Marko Elez starts as Special Advisor (IT&M) at Treas..
| Appointed: | Marko Elez 1/21/25-2/06/25 |
| Position Title: | Special Advisor (IT&M), Office of the Chief of Staff |
| Salary: | $84,601 (for 4 months) |
| Source: | Onboarding documentation at Treasury for Marko Elez Document Cloud, 3/07/25 |
| Source: | Member of Elon Musk's DOGE team resigns after racist posts resurface National Public Radio, 2/06/25 |
| Note: | Abruptly resigned when past racist tweets were reported. I think the pay here is to the NTE date, since his later detail to SSA from DOL is reimbursed at $71k a quarter |
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| GSA Detailed To: HHS Luke Farritor 1/21/25 | |
| Position Title: | Executive Engineer |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 73-2 Court Document, 3/29/25 |
1/23/25
Appointed:
Tom Krause starts as Senior Advisor for Technology and Modernization at Treas..
Appointed:
Tom Krause starts as Senior Advisor for Technology and Modernization at Treas..
| : | Tom Krause 1/23/25-2/12/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor for Technology and Modernization, Office of the Chief of Staff |
| Salary: | Volunteer (SGE) |
| Source: | State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, doc 147 Court Document, 5/01/25 |
| Source: | Onboarding Documentation for Thomas Kraus Document Cloud, 3/07/25 |
1/27/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| OPM Detailed To: DOGE Akash Bobba 1/27/25 | |
| Source: | The Authors Guild/American Council of Learned Societies v. National Endowment for the Humanities, doc 122-2 Court Document, 2/17/26 |
1/28/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| DOGE Detailed To: Ed. Adam Ramada 1/28/25-8/XX/25 | |
| Salary: | Volunteer |
| Source: | American Federation of Teachers v. Bessent, doc 27-5 Court Document, 2/17/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Adam Ramada LinkedIn, |
:
:
| System Access: | SPS: Secure Payment System |
| : | source-code, 1/28/25-2/06/25 Marko Elez |
| Note: | Used by federal government agencies to securely create, certify, and submit payments to the Fiscal Service. |
| DOGE Project: | Spending, Fraud |
Official Action:
The White House press secretary reports the astounding statistic that USAID spent $50 million on condoms for the Gaza Strip. This figure was actually for a variety of family planning services (largely birth control medication) and, more importantly, it was for the Gaza province in Mozambique.
Official Action:
The White House press secretary reports the astounding statistic that USAID spent $50 million on condoms for the Gaza Strip. This figure was actually for a variety of family planning services (largely birth control medication) and, more importantly, it was for the Gaza province in Mozambique.
| Source: | Within two weeks of President Trump’s return to the White House, U.S.A.I.D. was on the cusp of oblivion The New York Times, 6/22/25 |
| Agency: | USAID |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
1/30/25
1/31/25
Appointed:
Mike Russo starts as Chief Information Officer at SSA.
Appointed:
Mike Russo starts as Chief Information Officer at SSA.
| Appointed: | Mike Russo 1/31/25-3/24/25 |
| Position Title: | Chief Information Officer |
| Salary: | 195,200 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 22-10 Court Document, 3/07/25 |
2/03/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| GSA? Detailed To: SBA Edward Coristine 2/03/25 | |
| Position Title: | DOGE Advisor |
| Source: | How Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine and DOGE Got Access to a Federal Payroll System That Serves the FBI Wired Magazine, 7/30/25 |
| Note: | guessing detail date from system access request |
| GSA? Detailed To: SBA Donald Park 2/03/25 | |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor, DOGE |
| Salary: | $167,603 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | How Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine and DOGE Got Access to a Federal Payroll System That Serves the FBI Wired Magazine, 7/30/25 |
| Note: | guessing detail start from system access |
c.2/04/25
Appointed:
Justin Fulcher starts at VA.
Appointed:
Justin Fulcher starts at VA.
| Appointed: | Justin Fulcher c.2/04/25 |
| Source: | Elon Musk Aide Is Now Working at VA and Accessing Its Computer Systems Military News, 2/05/25 |
| Note: | reported in early Feb but named later |
2/05/25
:
:
| System Access: | SPS: Secure Payment System |
| : | read-write, 2/05/25-2/06/25 Marko Elez |
| Note: | Used by federal government agencies to securely create, certify, and submit payments to the Fiscal Service. |
| DOGE Project: | Spending, Fraud |
2/06/25
Access Revoked:
Access Revoked:
| System Access: | SPS: Secure Payment System |
| : | source-code, 1/28/25-2/06/25 Marko Elez |
| Note: | Used by federal government agencies to securely create, certify, and submit payments to the Fiscal Service. |
| DOGE Project: | Spending, Fraud |
Access Revoked:
Access Revoked:
| System Access: | SPS: Secure Payment System |
| : | read-write, 2/05/25-2/06/25 Marko Elez |
| Note: | Used by federal government agencies to securely create, certify, and submit payments to the Fiscal Service. |
| DOGE Project: | Spending, Fraud |
Offboarding:
Marko Elez leaves role as Special Advisor (IT&M) at Treas.
Offboarding:
Marko Elez leaves role as Special Advisor (IT&M) at Treas.
| Appointed: | Marko Elez 1/21/25-2/06/25 |
| Position Title: | Special Advisor (IT&M), Office of the Chief of Staff |
| Salary: | $84,601 (for 4 months) |
| Source: | Onboarding documentation at Treasury for Marko Elez Document Cloud, 3/07/25 |
| Source: | Member of Elon Musk's DOGE team resigns after racist posts resurface National Public Radio, 2/06/25 |
| Note: | Abruptly resigned when past racist tweets were reported. I think the pay here is to the NTE date, since his later detail to SSA from DOL is reimbursed at $71k a quarter |
2/07/25
Report:
After gaining access to the PAM DB system for payments, DOGE members at the Treasury department discover what appear to be payments flowing to recipients without Social Security numbers. Other recipients appear to be dead. These discrepancies lead to Musk accusing SSA of massive fraud on his Twitter feed, but later analysis by SSA staff reveal these were cases of DOGE not understanding how the data was structured.
Report:
After gaining access to the PAM DB system for payments, DOGE members at the Treasury department discover what appear to be payments flowing to recipients without Social Security numbers. Other recipients appear to be dead. These discrepancies lead to Musk accusing SSA of massive fraud on his Twitter feed, but later analysis by SSA staff reveal these were cases of DOGE not understanding how the data was structured.
| Question: | Fuzz: article just reports this as early Feb; but Musk tweets said he was informed on 2/7 |
| Source: | The Bureaucrat and the Billionaire: Inside DOGE’s Chaotic Takeover of Social Security The New York Times, 6/16/25 |
| Agency: | SSA, Treas. |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
2/09/25
Official Action:
Elon Musk posts more tweets claiming to have discovered sources of “massive fraud” within the SSA. These appear to be a misunderstanding of how erroneous records that exist in the SSA database are already filtered out from receiving benefits. Instead, he assumed that all erroneous records had received benefits and thus this was the massive fraud.
Official Action:
Elon Musk posts more tweets claiming to have discovered sources of “massive fraud” within the SSA. These appear to be a misunderstanding of how erroneous records that exist in the SSA database are already filtered out from receiving benefits. Instead, he assumed that all erroneous records had received benefits and thus this was the massive fraud.
| Person: | Elon Musk |
| Source: | Tweet by Elon Musk X.com, 2/09/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
2/10/25
Appointed:
Appointed:
| Appointed: | Scott Langmack 2/10/25-7/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | $167,603 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Scott Langmack LinkedIn, |
| Source: | DOGE Staffers at HUD Are From an AI Real Estate Firm and a Mobile Home Operator Wired Magazine, 2/26/25 |
| Note: | assuming appointed, LinkedIn reports move to OMB |
| Appointed: | Michael Mirski 2/10/25 |
| Salary: | $162,682 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | DOGE Staffers at HUD Are From an AI Real Estate Firm and a Mobile Home Operator Wired Magazine, 2/26/25 |
:
:
| System Access: | NUMIDENT: Numerical Identification System |
| : | read, 2/10/25 Akash Bobba |
| Note: | NUMIDENT files that have been extracted from SSA systems, these contain SSNs for everybody |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
Disruption:
A legal affadavit states a BFS payment was presented to the State Department as one to not process after it was reviewed by DOGE staff at Treasury.
Disruption:
A legal affadavit states a BFS payment was presented to the State Department as one to not process after it was reviewed by DOGE staff at Treasury.
| Source: | Treasury revoked editing access ‘mistakenly’ given to DOGE staffer The Washington Post, 2/11/25 |
| Agency: | Treas. |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
Report:
Mike Russo summons his new ally Leland Dudek to his office and asks him to explain data discrepancies identified by Elon Musk. Leland convenes a team of dozens of SSA engineers who review the data from the Treasury department and document fallacies of DOGE’s reasoning in a memo. Mike Russo rejects the memo’s conclusions by declaring that DOGE would not trust career civil servants and demanding that Akash Bobba must do his own analysis.
Report:
Mike Russo summons his new ally Leland Dudek to his office and asks him to explain data discrepancies identified by Elon Musk. Leland convenes a team of dozens of SSA engineers who review the data from the Treasury department and document fallacies of DOGE’s reasoning in a memo. Mike Russo rejects the memo’s conclusions by declaring that DOGE would not trust career civil servants and demanding that Akash Bobba must do his own analysis.
| Person: | Akash Bobba, Leland Dudek, Mike Russo |
| Source: | The Bureaucrat and the Billionaire: Inside DOGE’s Chaotic Takeover of Social Security The New York Times, 6/16/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
Sighting:
CIO Mike Russo convenes his own internal informational group in SSA where he has conversations with DOGE staff at other agencies about novel ideas for sharing sensitive SSA data. He does not inform Acting SSA Director, Michelle King.
Sighting:
CIO Mike Russo convenes his own internal informational group in SSA where he has conversations with DOGE staff at other agencies about novel ideas for sharing sensitive SSA data. He does not inform Acting SSA Director, Michelle King.
| Person: | Leland Dudek, Mike Russo |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 22-10 Court Document, 3/07/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
2/13/25
Converted to Permanent Position:
Tom Krause converted to permanent paid position at Treas.
Converted to Permanent Position:
Tom Krause converted to permanent paid position at Treas.
| Converted to Permanent Position: | Tom Krause 2/13/25-6/06/25 |
| Salary: | $167,603 (SGE) |
| Source: | State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, doc 147 Court Document, 5/01/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
2/16/25
System Access:
The White House pressures the IRS to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) granting DOGE expanded access to internal systems at the agency which contain confidential taxpayer information.
System Access:
The White House pressures the IRS to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) granting DOGE expanded access to internal systems at the agency which contain confidential taxpayer information.
| Source: | Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data at IRS The Washington Post, 2/16/25 |
| Agency: | IRS |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
Official Action:
Elon Musk posts a tweet claiming that DOGE had uncovered fraud of millions of people older than 120 who were collecting social security payments: “Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security.” This data issue is real, but there is no indication that millions of people were receiving improper payments
Official Action:
Elon Musk posts a tweet claiming that DOGE had uncovered fraud of millions of people older than 120 who were collecting social security payments: “Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security.” This data issue is real, but there is no indication that millions of people were receiving improper payments
| Person: | Elon Musk |
| Source: | Tweet by Elon Musk X.com, 2/16/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
2/18/25
Appointed:
Aram Moghaddassi starts as Policy Advisor at DOL.
Appointed:
Aram Moghaddassi starts as Policy Advisor at DOL.
| Appointed: | Aram Moghaddassi 2/18/25 |
| Position Title: | Policy Advisor, Office of the Secretary |
| Salary: | $84,601 |
| Source: | Onboarding documentation at DOL for Aram Moghaddassi Document Cloud, 7/15/25 |
2/19/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| OPM Detailed To: IRS Gavin Kliger 2/19/25-4/17/25 | |
| Source: | New York v. Treasury, Doc 144 Court Document, 5/01/25 |
| Source: | Detailing agreement from OPM to IRS for Gavin Kliger Document Cloud, 2/07/25 |
Official Action:
SSA CIO Mike Russo emails Leland Dudek request access to SSA’s Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) for several “members of [his] team.” This includes access to the NUMIDENT list of all social security records, Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) and Supplemental Security Record (SSR) master records, as well as copies of SSA payment files which SSA transmits to the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) for payment.
Official Action:
SSA CIO Mike Russo emails Leland Dudek request access to SSA’s Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) for several “members of [his] team.” This includes access to the NUMIDENT list of all social security records, Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) and Supplemental Security Record (SSR) master records, as well as copies of SSA payment files which SSA transmits to the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) for payment.
| Person: | Leland Dudek, Mike Russo |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 121-3 Court Document, 4/09/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Spending |
2/20/25
Appointed:
Ryan Wunderly starts at Treas..
Appointed:
Ryan Wunderly starts at Treas..
| Appointed: | Ryan Wunderly 2/20/25 |
| Salary: | $84,601 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | Treasury, White House agree to limits on DOGE’s access to IRS data Politico, 2/20/25 |
Interagency Coordination:
The White House and Treasury Department come to an agreement for a Memorandum of Understanding about how DOGE access to IRS systems will be structured.
Interagency Coordination:
The White House and Treasury Department come to an agreement for a Memorandum of Understanding about how DOGE access to IRS systems will be structured.
| Source: | Treasury, White House agree to limits on DOGE’s access to IRS data Politico, 2/20/25 |
| Agency: | IRS |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
2/21/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| GSA? Detailed To: HHS Jeremy Lewin 2/21/25 | |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 80-5 Court Document, 4/18/25 |
Interagency Coordination:
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the IRS and DOGE is formally signed. It reportedly will not let DOGE access individual tax returns.
Interagency Coordination:
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the IRS and DOGE is formally signed. It reportedly will not let DOGE access individual tax returns.
| Source: | I.R.S. Bars Musk Ally From Seeing Personal Information The New York Times, 2/21/25 |
| Agency: | IRS |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
2/25/25
Appointed:
Linda Whitridge starts at Treas..
Appointed:
Linda Whitridge starts at Treas..
| Appointed: | Linda Whitridge 2/25/25 |
| Salary: | $101,401 |
| Source: | Bluesky posts by Jacqueline Sweet Bluesky, 3/08/25 |
| Source: | State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, doc 147 Court Document, 5/01/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
Action:
Citing concerns that there is fraud in the federal payroll, the DOGE team at the Department of the Interior meets with the Interior Business Center Team to discuss their request to receive a log audit of all employee names, positions and hire dates as well as total pay for each pay period.
Action:
Citing concerns that there is fraud in the federal payroll, the DOGE team at the Department of the Interior meets with the Interior Business Center Team to discuss their request to receive a log audit of all employee names, positions and hire dates as well as total pay for each pay period.
| Person: | Tyler Hassen, Stephanie Holmes, Katrine Trampe |
| Source: | Second Production of FOIA materials from DOI to Sierra Club The Sierra Club, 2/27/26 |
| Agency: | DOI |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Anti-Personnel |
System Access:
The Post reports that DOGE staffers Gavin Kliger and Sam Corcos are being granted access to only anonymized data from IDRS as was specified in an earlier MOU.
System Access:
The Post reports that DOGE staffers Gavin Kliger and Sam Corcos are being granted access to only anonymized data from IDRS as was specified in an earlier MOU.
| Source: | DOGE’s grab of personal data stokes privacy and security fears The Washington Post, 2/25/25 |
| Agency: | IRS |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
2/28/25
Official Action:
Gavin Kliger and Sam Corcos, DOGE representatives embedded at the IRS, on Friday asked IRS lawyers to assist in creating an “omnibus” agreement with other federal agencies that would allow a broad swath of federal officials to cross-reference benefits rolls with taxpayer data.
Official Action:
Gavin Kliger and Sam Corcos, DOGE representatives embedded at the IRS, on Friday asked IRS lawyers to assist in creating an “omnibus” agreement with other federal agencies that would allow a broad swath of federal officials to cross-reference benefits rolls with taxpayer data.
| Person: | Sam Corcos, Gavin Kliger |
| Source: | DOGE seeks to use IRS tax records to check federal benefits The Washington Post, 3/01/25 |
| Agency: | IRS |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
Official Action:
Via email, SSA-05 (Cole Killian) at the DOGE team at SSA requests and receives approval from Leland Dudek to run a program to identify unrealistically old people in the SSA database. Scott Coulter is cc’ed on the approval.
Official Action:
Via email, SSA-05 (Cole Killian) at the DOGE team at SSA requests and receives approval from Leland Dudek to run a program to identify unrealistically old people in the SSA database. Scott Coulter is cc’ed on the approval.
| Person: | Scott Coulter, Leland Dudek, Cole Killian |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 121-3 Court Document, 4/09/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
3/05/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| GSA? Detailed To: HHS Edward Coristine 3/05/25 | |
| Position Title: | Executive Engineer |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 73-2 Court Document, 3/29/25 |
| Note: | Date verified in court document, assuming detail from GSA |
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| DOL Detailed To: HHS Marko Elez 3/05/25 | |
| Position Title: | Executive Engineer |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 73-2 Court Document, 3/29/25 |
| Note: | date/source in court filing |
| DOL Detailed To: HHS Aram Moghaddassi 3/05/25 | |
| Position Title: | Executive Engineer |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 73-2 Court Document, 3/29/25 |
3/06/25
Appointed:
Todd Newnam starts as Senior Advisor at Treas..
Appointed:
Todd Newnam starts as Senior Advisor at Treas..
| Appointed: | Todd Newnam 3/06/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | $167,603 |
| Source: | State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, doc 147 Court Document, 5/01/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
3/07/25
System Access:
Starting from this data and continuing until March 17, members of the DOGE team at SSA were using servers at Cloudflare to share SSA data (the exact product is not identified, but it could be the D1 system for SQL databases). Needless to say, Cloudflare is not approved by SSA for storing sensitive data, and SSA staff have been unable to determine what data was shared and if it is still hosted on Cloudflare systems.
System Access:
Starting from this data and continuing until March 17, members of the DOGE team at SSA were using servers at Cloudflare to share SSA data (the exact product is not identified, but it could be the D1 system for SQL databases). Needless to say, Cloudflare is not approved by SSA for storing sensitive data, and SSA staff have been unable to determine what data was shared and if it is still hosted on Cloudflare systems.
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 197 Court Document, 1/16/26 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration, Impunity |
3/12/25
Disruption:
Multiple SSA employees told ProPublica, their tech systems now seem to be crashing nearly every day, leading to more delays in serving beneficiaries.
Disruption:
Multiple SSA employees told ProPublica, their tech systems now seem to be crashing nearly every day, leading to more delays in serving beneficiaries.
| Source: | “The President Wanted It and I Did It”: Recording Reveals Head of Social Security’s Thoughts on DOGE and Trump Pro Publica, 6/12/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
3/14/25
:
:
| System Access: | PSSNAP: Phone Social Security Number Application Process data |
| : | read-write, 3/14/25 Payton Rehling |
| Note: | SSN application process data (Phone). This is a data extract file rather than an independent system. |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
:
:
| System Access: | PSSNAP: Phone Social Security Number Application Process data |
| : | read-write, 3/14/25 Aram Moghaddassi |
| Note: | SSN application process data (Phone). This is a data extract file rather than an independent system. |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
System Access:
Leland Dudek grants approval for SSA-05 (Cole Killian) to run the proposed tool for modifying the death data records to eliminate implausibly old people. DOGE was convinced these data errors were a massive source of fraud, despite evidence to the contrary from SSA staff and concerns that correcting the data would be a waste of time.
System Access:
Leland Dudek grants approval for SSA-05 (Cole Killian) to run the proposed tool for modifying the death data records to eliminate implausibly old people. DOGE was convinced these data errors were a massive source of fraud, despite evidence to the contrary from SSA staff and concerns that correcting the data would be a waste of time.
| Person: | Cole Killian |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 121-3 Court Document, 4/09/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
3/17/25
Appointed:
Jeremy Lichtman starts as Advisor on Government Efficiency at USDA.
Appointed:
Jeremy Lichtman starts as Advisor on Government Efficiency at USDA.
| Appointed: | Jeremy Lichtman 3/17/25-12/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Advisor on Government Efficiency, Office of the Secretary of Agriculture |
| Salary: | $142,488 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | USDA Records Concerning DOGE Teams at the Agency Document Cloud, 7/16/25 |
| Source: | FOIA response from USDA about DOGE staff at the agency Document Cloud, 3/17/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Jeremy Lichtman LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
Sahil Lavingia starts as Senior Advisor at VA.
Appointed:
Sahil Lavingia starts as Senior Advisor at VA.
| Appointed: | Sahil Lavingia 3/17/25-5/09/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor, Office of the Chief of Staff |
| Salary: | $27,444 |
| Source: | DOGE Days Sahil Lavingia's blog, 5/28/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Note: | fired for talking to media, dates from his blog |
:
:
| System Access: | NUMIDENT: Numerical Identification System |
| : | read, 3/17/25 Jon Koval |
| : | read, 3/17/25 Marko Elez |
| : | read, 3/17/25 Payton Rehling |
| Note: | NUMIDENT files that have been extracted from SSA systems, these contain SSNs for everybody |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
3/19/25
System Access:
Leland Dudek approves access for “Employee 9” of the DOGE team at SSA to view some additional schemas in the PSSNAP database of Social Security Applications conducted over the phone.
System Access:
Leland Dudek approves access for “Employee 9” of the DOGE team at SSA to view some additional schemas in the PSSNAP database of Social Security Applications conducted over the phone.
| Person: | Payton Rehling |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 121-3 Court Document, 4/09/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
3/20/25
Official Action:
President Trump issues an executive order demaning that agency heads must share all access to any unclassified datasets “related to the identification and elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse.” This is potentially in violation of the Privacy Act, so the order leaves it to individual agency staff to determine what sharing is allowed “to the maximum extent consistent with law.”
Official Action:
President Trump issues an executive order demaning that agency heads must share all access to any unclassified datasets “related to the identification and elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse.” This is potentially in violation of the Privacy Act, so the order leaves it to individual agency staff to determine what sharing is allowed “to the maximum extent consistent with law.”
| Source: | Executive Order: Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos Executive Office of the President, 3/20/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration, Spending |
Legal:
In a ruling for AFL-CIO vs. SSA, Judge Hollander grants a temporary restraining order enjoining DOGE from having any access to SSA systems or installing any software as well as ordering them to delete any data in their possession.
Legal:
In a ruling for AFL-CIO vs. SSA, Judge Hollander grants a temporary restraining order enjoining DOGE from having any access to SSA systems or installing any software as well as ordering them to delete any data in their possession.
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 48 Court Document, 3/20/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
Disruption:
Leland Dudek threatens to shut down the entire Social Security Administration instead of complying with the court order to block access for DOGE. He reportedly reaches this conclusion based on the advice of two unnamed senior DOGE leaders.
Disruption:
Leland Dudek threatens to shut down the entire Social Security Administration instead of complying with the court order to block access for DOGE. He reportedly reaches this conclusion based on the advice of two unnamed senior DOGE leaders.
| Person: | Leland Dudek |
| Source: | The Bureaucrat and the Billionaire: Inside DOGE’s Chaotic Takeover of Social Security The New York Times, 6/16/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
3/25/25
Demotion:
Mike Russo demoted to Senior Advisor at SSA
Demotion:
Mike Russo demoted to Senior Advisor at SSA
| Demotion: | Mike Russo 3/25/25-9/03/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | $195,200 |
| Source: | SSA tech shop to be led by another DOGE associate NextGov, 3/25/25 |
| Note: | Demoted and replaced by Scott Coulter in CIO role, he seems to be acting in a quasi co-CIO role since June |
3/27/25
Disruption:
The Social Security Administration ends a Biden-era rule that limited clawbacks for overpayments to 10% per check (to prior policy of taking entire checks).
Disruption:
The Social Security Administration ends a Biden-era rule that limited clawbacks for overpayments to 10% per check (to prior policy of taking entire checks).
| Source: | Social Security's overpayments policy takes effect today. Experts say it could hurt seniors. CBS News, 3/27/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
System Access:
In a sworn declaration, Leland Dudek justifies access to PII in SSA records for SSA-01 (Akash Bobba), SSA-05 (Cole Killian), SSA-08 (Nikhil Rajpal) and SSA-09 (Payton Rehling) on the DOGE team. This access is granted through the SSA’s Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) system. He asserts that DOGE staff are being granted only the minimum levels of schema access required.
System Access:
In a sworn declaration, Leland Dudek justifies access to PII in SSA records for SSA-01 (Akash Bobba), SSA-05 (Cole Killian), SSA-08 (Nikhil Rajpal) and SSA-09 (Payton Rehling) on the DOGE team. This access is granted through the SSA’s Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) system. He asserts that DOGE staff are being granted only the minimum levels of schema access required.
| Person: | Akash Bobba, Leland Dudek, Cole Killian, Nikhil Rajpal, Payton Rehling |
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 62-1 Court Document, 3/27/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
Disruption:
In an interview on FOX News, Aram Moghaddassi mangles a statistic that 40% of fraud involved a call to a service center to change direct deposit information. He instead announces that 40% of all calls to the SSA are fraudlent. The claim is amplified across conservative media and the White House refuses to correct.
Disruption:
In an interview on FOX News, Aram Moghaddassi mangles a statistic that 40% of fraud involved a call to a service center to change direct deposit information. He instead announces that 40% of all calls to the SSA are fraudlent. The claim is amplified across conservative media and the White House refuses to correct.
| Person: | Aram Moghaddassi |
| Source: | The Bureaucrat and the Billionaire: Inside DOGE’s Chaotic Takeover of Social Security The New York Times, 6/16/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
3/28/25
Disruption:
The Deputy CIO for Infrastructure/IT at SSA acknowledges an increased number of network crashes due to a newly-introduced fraud checking system created and rushed into production by DOGE.
Disruption:
The Deputy CIO for Infrastructure/IT at SSA acknowledges an increased number of network crashes due to a newly-introduced fraud checking system created and rushed into production by DOGE.
| Source: | Social Security website keeps crashing, as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff The Washington Post, 4/07/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, IT Modernization |
Official Action:
As part of an interview on Fox News, Aram Moghaddassi spreads an incorrect statistic that states 40% of all phones calls to SSA are from people committing fraud.
Official Action:
As part of an interview on Fox News, Aram Moghaddassi spreads an incorrect statistic that states 40% of all phones calls to SSA are from people committing fraud.
| Person: | Aram Moghaddassi |
| Source: | Vance’s whopper on alleged Social Security fraud The Washington Post, 4/08/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
3/30/25
Disruption:
DOGE announces on X.com that it has made some changes to the loan application process at SBA to require a date of birth and to pause applications for certain age ranges. It’s unclear how much actual fraud this might have prevented.
Disruption:
DOGE announces on X.com that it has made some changes to the loan application process at SBA to require a date of birth and to pause applications for certain age ranges. It’s unclear how much actual fraud this might have prevented.
| Source: | How DOGE Is Changing the Process for SBA Loans Inc., 3/30/25 |
| Agency: | SBA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
Disruption:
During campaign rallies in Wisconsin, Elon Musk and Antonio Gracias publish a chart claiming to show an increase in social security numbers being granted to noncitizens as evidence of voting fraud or benefits fraud by immigrants. The problem is that these numbers are necessary for immigrants to work in roles, and are used for paying taxes rather than receiving benefits, and the statistics were from a program to replace a more cumbersome process for assigning SSN IDs. Based on this interpretation, the Trump Administration argued for a change where applicants would have to instead visit an already overstretched field office, a change that is likely to both reduce tax income from immigrant workers and increase the per-person cost from $8 to $51,000.
Disruption:
During campaign rallies in Wisconsin, Elon Musk and Antonio Gracias publish a chart claiming to show an increase in social security numbers being granted to noncitizens as evidence of voting fraud or benefits fraud by immigrants. The problem is that these numbers are necessary for immigrants to work in roles, and are used for paying taxes rather than receiving benefits, and the statistics were from a program to replace a more cumbersome process for assigning SSN IDs. Based on this interpretation, the Trump Administration argued for a change where applicants would have to instead visit an already overstretched field office, a change that is likely to both reduce tax income from immigrant workers and increase the per-person cost from $8 to $51,000.
| Person: | Antonio Gracias, Elon Musk |
| Source: | Musk floats falsehoods about Social Security, immigrants as DOGE seeks changes The Washington Post, 4/01/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
3/XX/25
System Access:
In a response to a Trump EO on tracking grants, the DOGE team is granted approval by HHS CIO Clark Minor to build an API to retrieved data from the Payment Management System system.
System Access:
In a response to a Trump EO on tracking grants, the DOGE team is granted approval by HHS CIO Clark Minor to build an API to retrieved data from the Payment Management System system.
| Person: | Clark Minor |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 82-4 Court Document, 4/29/25 |
| Agency: | HHS |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Spending |
4/01/25
Disruption:
Alarmed at the viral spread of DOGE’s false claim that 40% of all calls to Social Security are fraud, agency staff at SSA draft a public statement to correct the errors in the claim. They are specifically ordered by Katie Miller not to release it. She asserts “the number is 40 percent.”
Disruption:
Alarmed at the viral spread of DOGE’s false claim that 40% of all calls to Social Security are fraud, agency staff at SSA draft a public statement to correct the errors in the claim. They are specifically ordered by Katie Miller not to release it. She asserts “the number is 40 percent.”
| Person: | Leland Dudek, Katie Miller |
| Source: | The Bureaucrat and the Billionaire: Inside DOGE’s Chaotic Takeover of Social Security The New York Times, 6/16/25 |
| Agency: | SSA, DOGE |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
4/02/25
Disruption:
In an interview on Fox, Antonio Gracias makes misleading claims that DOGE had discovered widespread voting fraud through joining social security data and state voter rolls.
Disruption:
In an interview on Fox, Antonio Gracias makes misleading claims that DOGE had discovered widespread voting fraud through joining social security data and state voter rolls.
| Person: | Antonio Gracias |
| Source: | How DOGE may have improperly used Social Security data to push voter fraud narratives National Public Radio, 4/11/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
4/07/25
Disruption:
The Post confirms with multiple source that Social Security’s website has crashed repeatedly in recent weeks, with outages ranging from 20 minutes to an entire day. They speculate this is due to the introduction of an expanded fraud check system created by DOGE that wasn’t tested for scalability before being deployed.
Disruption:
The Post confirms with multiple source that Social Security’s website has crashed repeatedly in recent weeks, with outages ranging from 20 minutes to an entire day. They speculate this is due to the introduction of an expanded fraud check system created by DOGE that wasn’t tested for scalability before being deployed.
| Source: | Social Security website keeps crashing, as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff The Washington Post, 4/07/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, IT Modernization |
4/09/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| Ed. Detailed To: Treas. Brooks Morgan 4/09/25 | |
| Position Title: | Senior Treasury Advisor |
| Source: | Detail for Dept. of Education Staff to Treasury Document Cloud, 6/10/25 |
| Ed. Detailed To: Treas. Adam Ramada 4/09/25 | |
| Position Title: | Senior Treasury Advisor |
| Source: | Detail for Dept. of Education Staff to Treasury Document Cloud, 6/10/25 |
| Note: | Was he detailed from Education after detailed from DOGE? Or has he been hired by Education since? |
Onboarding:
Adam Ramada and Brooks Morgan are part of a cohort of 9 staffers detailed from the Department of Education to the Treasury, under the aegis of supporting federal student aid functions at Treasury.
Onboarding:
Adam Ramada and Brooks Morgan are part of a cohort of 9 staffers detailed from the Department of Education to the Treasury, under the aegis of supporting federal student aid functions at Treasury.
| Person: | Brooks Morgan, Adam Ramada |
| Source: | State of New York v. Linda McMahon The Supreme Court, 6/10/25 |
| Agency: | Treas., Ed. |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
4/15/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| SSA Detailed To: DOJ Jon Koval 4/15/25 | |
| Source: | Top DOGE Officials Moved From Social Security Administration to Justice Dept. The New York Times, 4/18/25 |
| Note: | assuming detail from SSA |
| SSA? Detailed To: DOJ Payton Rehling 4/15/25 | |
| Source: | Top DOGE Officials Moved From Social Security Administration to Justice Dept. The New York Times, 4/18/25 |
4/17/25
Offboarding:
Gavin Kliger ends detailed position at IRS
Offboarding:
Gavin Kliger ends detailed position at IRS
| OPM Detailed To: IRS Gavin Kliger 2/19/25-4/17/25 | |
| Source: | New York v. Treasury, Doc 144 Court Document, 5/01/25 |
| Source: | Detailing agreement from OPM to IRS for Gavin Kliger Document Cloud, 2/07/25 |
4/23/25
System Access:
DOGE has reportedly added 10 million records into the Death Master File since March, both as part of addressing errors in the NUMIDENT files as well as deliberate effort to harm immigrants from being able to interact with the financial industry. As a reuslt, some very alive Americans have been declared dead by DOGE.
System Access:
DOGE has reportedly added 10 million records into the Death Master File since March, both as part of addressing errors in the NUMIDENT files as well as deliberate effort to harm immigrants from being able to interact with the financial industry. As a reuslt, some very alive Americans have been declared dead by DOGE.
| Source: | When government thinks you’re dead, it upends lives. DOGE may make it worse. The Washington Post, 4/23/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
5/09/25
Offboarding:
Sahil Lavingia leaves role as Senior Advisor at VA
Offboarding:
Sahil Lavingia leaves role as Senior Advisor at VA
| Appointed: | Sahil Lavingia 3/17/25-5/09/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor, Office of the Chief of Staff |
| Salary: | $27,444 |
| Source: | DOGE Days Sahil Lavingia's blog, 5/28/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Note: | fired for talking to media, dates from his blog |
5/14/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| GSA? Detailed To: EXIM Donald Park 5/14/25 | |
| Source: | Bluesky post by Marisa Kabas The Handbasket, 5/14/25 |
5/16/25
Disruption:
An internal report at Social Security analyzes new fraud detection mechanisms that were mandated by DOGE for all phone claims. According to analysis, only 2 out of 110,000 claims made were possibly but not certainly fraudultent, and adding the system has slowed claims processing by 25% and degraded service overall.
Disruption:
An internal report at Social Security analyzes new fraud detection mechanisms that were mandated by DOGE for all phone claims. According to analysis, only 2 out of 110,000 claims made were possibly but not certainly fraudultent, and adding the system has slowed claims processing by 25% and degraded service overall.
| Source: | DOGE went looking for phone fraud at SSA — and found almost none NextGov, 5/15/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
c.5/25/25
Disruption:
Over 200 loan recipients have their birth date voided and their accounts closed in the National Payment Service (NPS) system. This action was likely taken by Jordan Wick in response to discovering that some number of loan recipients had “1900” as their birth years (DOGE presumed similar circumstances at SSA indicated fraud when it was really issues with data entry). It is possible that this action was a pretext for closing other accounts.
Disruption:
Over 200 loan recipients have their birth date voided and their accounts closed in the National Payment Service (NPS) system. This action was likely taken by Jordan Wick in response to discovering that some number of loan recipients had “1900” as their birth years (DOGE presumed similar circumstances at SSA indicated fraud when it was really issues with data entry). It is possible that this action was a pretext for closing other accounts.
| Question: | Fuzz: date just reported as late May |
| Person: | Jordan Wick |
| Source: | DOGE keeps gaining access to sensitive data. Now, it can cut off billions to farmers National Public Radio, 7/10/25 |
| Agency: | USDA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Spending |
5/28/25
5/31/25
Converted to Permanent Position:
Edward Coristine converted to permanent paid position as Senior Advisor at GSA
Converted to Permanent Position:
Edward Coristine converted to permanent paid position as Senior Advisor at GSA
| Converted to Permanent Position: | Edward Coristine 5/31/25-6/23/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | $167,603 - $195,200 |
| Source: | ‘Big Balls’ No Longer Works for the US Government Wired Magazine, 6/24/25 |
| Note: | Salary range for GS-15 in DC |
6/06/25
Offboarding:
Offboarding:
| Converted to Permanent Position: | Tom Krause 2/13/25-6/06/25 |
| Salary: | $167,603 (SGE) |
| Source: | State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, doc 147 Court Document, 5/01/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
Legal:
In a 6-3 ruling on an emergency application, the Supreme Court rejected an injunction that prevented DOGE from accessing Social Security data. In a setback for privacy advocates, this will allow for SSA to share data with DOGE and other agencies, while the case about the legality of that proceeds.
Legal:
In a 6-3 ruling on an emergency application, the Supreme Court rejected an injunction that prevented DOGE from accessing Social Security data. In a setback for privacy advocates, this will allow for SSA to share data with DOGE and other agencies, while the case about the legality of that proceeds.
| Source: | Justices Grant DOGE Access to Social Security Data and Let the Team Shield Records The New York Times, 6/06/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE, SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
6/09/25
Offboarding:
Edward Coristine ends detailed position at DOGE
Offboarding:
Edward Coristine ends detailed position at DOGE
| GSA Detailed To: DOGE Edward Coristine 1/20/25-6/09/25 | |
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 211-5 Court Document, 4/15/26 |
| Source: | The Authors Guild/American Council of Learned Societies v. National Endowment for the Humanities, doc 122-2 Court Document, 2/17/26 |
6/12/25
Disruption:
A career official writes up a Risk Acceptance Request Form to share with Aram Moghaddassi and another unnamed career official in the office of the CIO at Social Security about DOGE’s request to have administrative access to a separate Virtual Private Cloud within the Amazon Web Services infrastructure at SSA. The official classifies this as high-risk due a proposal to copy NUMIDENT data to a developer environment with looser access controls and security measures. DOGE developers would also be able to make this data publicly accessible without following the Authority to Operate (ATO) requirements for any new public services and install software not approved for operation in SSA infrastructure.
Disruption:
A career official writes up a Risk Acceptance Request Form to share with Aram Moghaddassi and another unnamed career official in the office of the CIO at Social Security about DOGE’s request to have administrative access to a separate Virtual Private Cloud within the Amazon Web Services infrastructure at SSA. The official classifies this as high-risk due a proposal to copy NUMIDENT data to a developer environment with looser access controls and security measures. DOGE developers would also be able to make this data publicly accessible without following the Authority to Operate (ATO) requirements for any new public services and install software not approved for operation in SSA infrastructure.
| Person: | Aram Moghaddassi, John Solly |
| Source: | Protected Whistleblower Disclosure of Charles Borges Regarding Violation of Laws, Rules & Regulations, Abuse of Authority, Gross Mismanagement, and Substantial and Specific Threat to Public Health and Safety at the Social Security Administration Government Accountability Project, 8/08/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
6/16/25
Report:
The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for SSA sends an email to Aram Moghaddassi with his assessment that moving NUMIDENT data to the cloud would be at an unacceptably high risk for being hacked or stolen (computed on a 1-5 scale with a 3 for probability of risk and 5 for the impact of this risk)
Report:
The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for SSA sends an email to Aram Moghaddassi with his assessment that moving NUMIDENT data to the cloud would be at an unacceptably high risk for being hacked or stolen (computed on a 1-5 scale with a 3 for probability of risk and 5 for the impact of this risk)
| Person: | Aram Moghaddassi |
| Source: | Unchecked and Unaccountable: How DOGE Jeopardizes Americans' Data Without Regard for Law and Congress Senate Homeland Security and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, 9/25/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
6/23/25
Offboarding:
Edward Coristine leaves role as Senior Advisor at GSA
Offboarding:
Edward Coristine leaves role as Senior Advisor at GSA
| Converted to Permanent Position: | Edward Coristine 5/31/25-6/23/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | $167,603 - $195,200 |
| Source: | ‘Big Balls’ No Longer Works for the US Government Wired Magazine, 6/24/25 |
| Note: | Salary range for GS-15 in DC |
c.6/23/25
Appointed:
Edward Coristine starts at SSA.
Appointed:
Edward Coristine starts at SSA.
| Appointed: | Edward Coristine c.6/23/25 |
| Source: | ‘Big Balls’ Is Now at the Social Security Administration Wired Magazine, 6/26/25 |
:
:
| System Access: | NUMIDENT: Numerical Identification System |
| : | read, c.6/23/25 Edward Coristine |
| Note: | NUMIDENT files that have been extracted from SSA systems, these contain SSNs for everybody |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
6/25/25
System Access:
Reportedly acting as a joint CIO at Social Security, Mike Russo overrides the concerns of junior staff in the Office of the CIO at the Social Security Administration and approves a request by John Solly to transfer NUMIDENT data into the new DOGE-controlled cloud environment.
System Access:
Reportedly acting as a joint CIO at Social Security, Mike Russo overrides the concerns of junior staff in the Office of the CIO at the Social Security Administration and approves a request by John Solly to transfer NUMIDENT data into the new DOGE-controlled cloud environment.
| Person: | Mike Russo, John Solly |
| Source: | Protected Whistleblower Disclosure of Charles Borges Regarding Violation of Laws, Rules & Regulations, Abuse of Authority, Gross Mismanagement, and Substantial and Specific Threat to Public Health and Safety at the Social Security Administration Government Accountability Project, 8/08/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
6/27/25
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 87 Court Document, 6/27/25 |
| Agency: | DOL, HHS, CMS, CDC, FDA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration |
7/14/25
Disruption:
The Social Security Administration begins to warn approximately half a million Americans who still receive their benefits by paper check that they will need to call the Treasury Department themselves and request a waiver to still receive paper checks. Those who have not had their waivers processed by the end of September may experience a delay in receiving benefits even if their waiver application is pending. This action is being taken to comply with EO 14247.
Disruption:
The Social Security Administration begins to warn approximately half a million Americans who still receive their benefits by paper check that they will need to call the Treasury Department themselves and request a waiver to still receive paper checks. Those who have not had their waivers processed by the end of September may experience a delay in receiving benefits even if their waiver application is pending. This action is being taken to comply with EO 14247.
| Source: | Social Security signals potential benefit disruptions this fall for those still getting paper checks GovExec, 7/14/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
7/15/25
Disruption:
Acting in his role as the CIO for Social Security Administration, Aram Moghaddassi authorizes a Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) for the project of moving the NUMIDENT data from Social Security’s controlled environment into the special cloud soley operated by DOGE. As the CIO, he is allowed to assume the risk of bypassing mandatory security requirements, but not if it violates federal law or puts sensitive data at risk of being stolen. According to the testimony of several whistleblowers, the cloud project is reportedly being run by Edward Coristine.
Disruption:
Acting in his role as the CIO for Social Security Administration, Aram Moghaddassi authorizes a Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) for the project of moving the NUMIDENT data from Social Security’s controlled environment into the special cloud soley operated by DOGE. As the CIO, he is allowed to assume the risk of bypassing mandatory security requirements, but not if it violates federal law or puts sensitive data at risk of being stolen. According to the testimony of several whistleblowers, the cloud project is reportedly being run by Edward Coristine.
| Source: | Protected Whistleblower Disclosure of Charles Borges Regarding Violation of Laws, Rules & Regulations, Abuse of Authority, Gross Mismanagement, and Substantial and Specific Threat to Public Health and Safety at the Social Security Administration Government Accountability Project, 8/08/25 |
| Source: | Unchecked and Unaccountable: How DOGE Jeopardizes Americans' Data Without Regard for Law and Congress Senate Homeland Security and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, 9/25/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
7/XX/25
Offboarding:
Scott Langmack leaves role as Senior Advisor at HUD
Offboarding:
Scott Langmack leaves role as Senior Advisor at HUD
| Appointed: | Scott Langmack 2/10/25-7/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | $167,603 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Scott Langmack LinkedIn, |
| Source: | DOGE Staffers at HUD Are From an AI Real Estate Firm and a Mobile Home Operator Wired Magazine, 2/26/25 |
| Note: | assuming appointed, LinkedIn reports move to OMB |
8/11/25
Action:
Expressing concerns that the lax security of DOGE’s cloud could lead to the leak of every American’s social security number (and the requirement ro reissue new ones), the Chief Data Officer of the Social Security Administration contacts Edward Coristine and John Solly to request information about the security of DOGE’s cloud. He is never granted a reply and learns that the SSA Office of General Counsel (headed by DOGE member Mark Steffensen) has advised employees not to respond to his inquiries.
Action:
Expressing concerns that the lax security of DOGE’s cloud could lead to the leak of every American’s social security number (and the requirement ro reissue new ones), the Chief Data Officer of the Social Security Administration contacts Edward Coristine and John Solly to request information about the security of DOGE’s cloud. He is never granted a reply and learns that the SSA Office of General Counsel (headed by DOGE member Mark Steffensen) has advised employees not to respond to his inquiries.
| Person: | Edward Coristine, Aram Moghaddassi, John Solly, Mark Steffensen |
| Source: | Protected Whistleblower Disclosure of Charles Borges Regarding Violation of Laws, Rules & Regulations, Abuse of Authority, Gross Mismanagement, and Substantial and Specific Threat to Public Health and Safety at the Social Security Administration Government Accountability Project, 8/08/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
8/12/25
Legal:
Citing a Supreme Court shadow docket ruling as precedent, a DC Appeals Court overturned a stay from February and ordered that DOGE should be allowed to access sensitive data at the Treasury Department, OPM and Department of Education.
Legal:
Citing a Supreme Court shadow docket ruling as precedent, a DC Appeals Court overturned a stay from February and ordered that DOGE should be allowed to access sensitive data at the Treasury Department, OPM and Department of Education.
| Source: | Appeals Court Allows DOGE Access to Sensitive Data at Several Agencies The New York Times, 8/12/25 |
| Agency: | Treas., IRS, OPM, Ed. |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Immigration, Anti-Personnel |
8/26/25
Oversight:
The Chief Data Officer of the Social Security Administration, Charles Borges, submits a public whistleblower complaint alleging that DOGE cut corners and skirted mandatory IT oversight in order to copy sensitive NUMIDENT data of the social security numbers of all Americans into a private cloud environment that only they controlled.
Oversight:
The Chief Data Officer of the Social Security Administration, Charles Borges, submits a public whistleblower complaint alleging that DOGE cut corners and skirted mandatory IT oversight in order to copy sensitive NUMIDENT data of the social security numbers of all Americans into a private cloud environment that only they controlled.
| Source: | Protected Whistleblower Disclosure of Charles Borges Regarding Violation of Laws, Rules & Regulations, Abuse of Authority, Gross Mismanagement, and Substantial and Specific Threat to Public Health and Safety at the Social Security Administration Government Accountability Project, 8/08/25 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |
8/XX/25
Offboarding:
Offboarding:
| DOGE Detailed To: Ed. Adam Ramada 1/28/25-8/XX/25 | |
| Salary: | Volunteer |
| Source: | American Federation of Teachers v. Bessent, doc 27-5 Court Document, 2/17/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Adam Ramada LinkedIn, |
9/03/25
Promotion:
Mike Russo promoted to Chief Information Officer (Core Business Functions) at SSA
Promotion:
Mike Russo promoted to Chief Information Officer (Core Business Functions) at SSA
| Promotion: | Mike Russo 9/03/25 |
| Position Title: | Chief Information Officer (Core Business Functions) |
| Salary: | $195,200 |
| Source: | Social Security Announces Executive Leadership Team Social Security Administration, 9/03/25 |
9/25/25
Oversight:
Oversight:
11/03/25
Official Action:
Posting from her personal account on X, the USDA Secretary asserts that the agency had uncovered massive fraud in the personal data of SNAP recipients that it had collected from 27 cooperating states. In an appearance on FOX News, she claims the administration had eliminated 700,000 people from SNAP benefits and had arrested 118 people. She provided no other details to verify her claims.
Official Action:
Posting from her personal account on X, the USDA Secretary asserts that the agency had uncovered massive fraud in the personal data of SNAP recipients that it had collected from 27 cooperating states. In an appearance on FOX News, she claims the administration had eliminated 700,000 people from SNAP benefits and had arrested 118 people. She provided no other details to verify her claims.
| Source: | As SNAP funding lapsed, a top official called the program 'corrupt' National Public Radio, 11/04/25 |
| Agency: | USDA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud |
12/XX/25
Offboarding:
Offboarding:
| Appointed: | Jeremy Lichtman 3/17/25-12/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Advisor on Government Efficiency, Office of the Secretary of Agriculture |
| Salary: | $142,488 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | USDA Records Concerning DOGE Teams at the Agency Document Cloud, 7/16/25 |
| Source: | FOIA response from USDA about DOGE staff at the agency Document Cloud, 3/17/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Jeremy Lichtman LinkedIn, |
1/16/26
Legal:
In a filing in AFL-CIO v. SSA, the government amended several declarations that had been made in Leland Dudek’s testimony on March 24, 2025. For starters, although DOGE access was revoked on that day, a member of DOGE was running queries against PII in the NUMIDENT database up to the moment. Also, the DOGE team at SSA sent encrypted sensitive SSA data to DOGE and the Department of Labor. A member of the DOGE team also signed an agreement to share information with an outside advocacy group without clearing it through proper legal channels.
Legal:
In a filing in AFL-CIO v. SSA, the government amended several declarations that had been made in Leland Dudek’s testimony on March 24, 2025. For starters, although DOGE access was revoked on that day, a member of DOGE was running queries against PII in the NUMIDENT database up to the moment. Also, the DOGE team at SSA sent encrypted sensitive SSA data to DOGE and the Department of Labor. A member of the DOGE team also signed an agreement to share information with an outside advocacy group without clearing it through proper legal channels.
| Source: | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. SSA, doc 197 Court Document, 1/16/26 |
| Agency: | SSA |
| DOGE Project: | Fraud, Impunity |