Leland Dudek, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), has clarified that he will not shut down the agency, despite initially suggesting that it might be necessary due to a judge’s ruling restricting access to sensitive data.
Dudek stated on Friday that he had received “clarifying guidance” regarding the judge’s temporary restraining order affecting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Therefore, I am not shutting down the agency,” Dudek stated. “President Trump believes in keeping Social Security offices open and ensuring that the right check is delivered to the right person at the right time. Under the [temporary restraining order], SSA employees will continue to work.
The confusion arose from a Thursday order by U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander, who barred DOGE personnel from accessing SSA systems containing personally identifiable information (PII).
In interviews on Thursday and Friday, Dudek hinted that the ruling could force him to suspend Social Security payments and lock SSA employees out of agency systems.
“My anti-fraud team and IT staff are DOGE affiliates,” Dudek explained to Bloomberg News on Thursday. “If I follow the order exactly, I’d have to cut off access for all SSA employees to our IT systems.”
He also told the Washington Post that the agency’s work is focused on PII. “Everything in this agency is PII,” Dudek explained. “Unless I get clarification, I’ll have no choice but to start shutting it down.”
Judge Hollander responded on Friday, stating that Dudek’s interpretation was incorrect.
She clarified that the order does not require suspending benefit payments or preventing non-DOGE-affiliated SSA employees from accessing agency systems.
“Employees of SSA who are not involved with the DOGE Team or its work are not subject to the Order,” the ruling states. “Any suggestion that the Order may require the delay or suspension of benefit payments is incorrect.”
Dudek’s previous comments sparked a backlash from organizations such as the AARP.
“Social Security has never missed a payment, and AARP and our tens of millions of members will not stand by and let that happen now,” said John Hishta, AARP’s Senior Vice President of Campaigns.
