Scoop: Democrats seek probe of DOGE's Social Security meddling

• As such, congressional Democrats have already homed in on the topic in ads going after their Republican counterparts.

Driving the news: House Oversight Committee ranking member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), in a letter first obtained by Axios, cited new whistleblower allegations that DOGE is "putting SSA benefits and Americans' sensitive data at risk," including by:

• Making changes to the agency's staff and technology that have "already degraded operations, leaving beneficiaries unable to access basic services and potentially disrupting Social Security payments."
• Planning a "massive overhaul" of the agency's IT systems called "SSA 2.0" with "almost no advanced planning or transparency."
• And building "a massive database using data from SSA" and other agencies, including the IRS and the Department of Health and Human Services.

What he's saying: Connolly asked the agency's assistant inspector general for audit, Michelle L. Anderson, to investigate whether they are prepared for these changes and taking the "necessary steps to protect sensitive information."

• The probe, he said, should include an accounting of virtually all of DOGE's actions related to Social Security to date.
• Spokespeople for the Trump administration and the Social Security Administration's office of inspector general did not immediately respond to requests for comment.