Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says his mother-in-law wouldn't complain if her Social Security check didn't arrive this month
Nathan Howard/REUTERS
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said complaints about missing benefits checks indicate fraud.
- A federal judge blocked DOGE's access to personal Social Security records amid fraud claims.
- More than 7 million Americans receive 90% of their income from Social Security, based on SSA data.
As the staff cuts at the Social Security Administration leave monthly benefit payments to tens of millions of Americans up in the air — alarming former SSA leaders on both sides of the aisle — Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, doesn't think you should be complaining if your check doesn't show up.
"Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this month — my mother-in-law, who's 94, she wouldn't call and complain. She just wouldn't," Lutnick told All-In Podcast hosts David Friedberg and Chamath Palihapitiya on Thursday. "She'd think something got messed up, and she'll get it next month."
Lutnick was responding to a question from Palihapitiya on whether acts of "domestic terrorism" — presumably referring to recent cases of vandalism on Tesla cars and showrooms — are an attempt to scare people who are trying to find "waste and fraud" in the government.
"A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling, and complaining," he added. "Anybody who's been in the payment system and the processes, who knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen because whoever screams is the one stealing."
Lutnick's comments come as DOGE leads a push to reduce government spending by cutting federal workers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the face of DOGE, says there is "massive" fraud in the Social Security payment system and that it is a "Ponzi scheme."
The SSA said on February 28 that it aimed to fire around 7,000 workers and restructure its organization "consistent with recent executive orders issued by the White House."
According to court documents filed at the District Court of Maryland, the Trump administration had placed a 10-person DOGE team at the SSA to hunt for the alleged fraud. Seven members were granted read-only access to agency databases containing sensitive personal information. On Thursday, a federal judge blocked DOGE from accessing Social Security records and said they could not "flout the law."
"The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion," wrote US District Judge Ellen Hollander.
According to a fact sheet published by SSA, an average of almost 69 million Americans per month would receive a Social Security benefit in 2025, totaling about $1.6 trillion in benefits paid during the year. More than 7 million Americans 65 and older receive at least 90 percent of their income from Social Security, based on SSA data.
Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of the SSA, said on Tuesday during a press conference that around $100 million is lost each year in direct deposit fraud, which would make up about 0.00625% of the total sum paid out each year.
The Department of Commerce, the SSA, and Chamath Palihapitiya did not immediately respond to requests for comment.