O’Mally Comments On DOGE Probes
The debate over fraud in the Social Security Administration (SSA) took a dramatic turn this week when former commissioner Martin O’Malley openly laughed at concerns that the agency may be riddled with improper payments. Appearing on CNN News Central, O’Malley dismissed accusations of widespread fraud as absurd, even as reports continue to surface about serious discrepancies in the Social Security database.
O’Malley, who led the SSA under President Biden from 2023 to 2024, was asked about recent claims from Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the agency tasked with rooting out waste and fraud in the federal government.
CNN host Boris Sanchez referenced Musk’s assertions that millions of dollars in Social Security benefits are being paid to deceased individuals, prompting an immediate reaction from O’Malley.
O’Malley responded with laughter. When Sanchez pressed him—reminding him that many Americans take these concerns seriously—O’Malley doubled down, saying, “Yeah,” before continuing to chuckle. “He has no idea what he's talking about. There is not, like, a zombie apocalypse of people, you know, cadavers running around with Social Security checks coming out of their pockets.”
However, O’Malley’s own remarks seemed to undercut his attempt to dismiss the issue outright. He admitted that, given the size of the agency, some fraudulent cases do exist. “It’s 72.5 million people. Sometimes really desperate people will try to hide the fact that grandma died, so they get a couple more checks,” he acknowledged.
He also referenced SSA’s internal safeguards, particularly a system that flags older beneficiaries if they stop receiving Medicare benefits. But while O’Malley attempted to frame erroneous suspensions of benefits as a more frequent issue than improper payments, he stopped short of denying that fraudulent claims exist.
Musk’s claims about Social Security’s data inconsistencies are staggering. According to his findings, the SSA database includes more than 20 million individuals listed as being 100 years or older. Even more astonishing are the specific figures: 3.9 million names appear in the 130-139 age range, 3.5 million in the 140-149 range, and over 1.3 million listed between 150-159 years old.
While Musk has not stated how many of these names are actively receiving benefits, the presence of such anomalies raises serious questions about data integrity and oversight at the agency.
O’Malley, however, dismissed these concerns outright. He accused DOGE employees—whom he called “19-year-old nitwits”—of mishandling personal data and failing to understand what they were looking at. He also challenged Musk to produce concrete evidence. “Ask Elon Musk, show me the 12 people that are 150 years old. He can’t. Show me the 200 million that are still receiving checks. He can’t.”