(NewsNation) — The Social Security Administration announced Monday that it closed its Office of Transformation and that employees who worked there will be put on administrative leave.
In a statement, SSA Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek called it a “redundant” office.
“President (Donald) Trump has mandated the Federal government eliminate wasteful and inefficient offices and the Office of Transformation was a prime example,” Dudek said.
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The Office of Transformation, according to its website, is responsible for “strategic guidance and oversight of enterprise-wide initiatives, addressing policies, business processes and systems.” It also plans and coordinates projects involving customer service-related systems and projects.
NewsNation has reached out to the Social Security Administration’s Press Office for more information, including how many employees are now on leave and what aspects of the office were wasteful.
Last week, the Social Security Administration said it did an “organizational realignment of the functions provided by its Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight. The administration said moving these functions allowed the agency to streamline layers of management; increase data sharing and “speed the opportunities to identify fraud, waste, and abuse and implement needed solutions.”
The Trump administration and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have been working on cutting spending at federal agencies, as well as its workforce, through the Department of Government Efficiency
Monday’s announcement by the SSA didn’t specifically mention DOGE, but Dudek did in a Feb. 19 statement after being confirmed by the Senate. He called it a “critical part” of Trump’s agenda.
DOGE has been controversial as some express concern that its cuts have gone too far and warn they could have negative effects on everyday citizens. In addition, experts have criticized DOGE by saying most of the “savings” it has touted are driven more by ideological views than economic ones.
While DOGE claims it found $55 billion in savings, touting layoffs, canceled contracts and lease renegotiations so far, a closer examination raises doubts about these numbers. On its website, DOGE lists these savings but has not provided evidence for approximately $38 billion of that — nearly 75% of its total claim, NewsNation has previously reported. Another analysis by The Associated Press showed that nearly 40% of the federal contracts the Trump administration says its canceled aren’t expected to save the government any money.
Reporting by NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey and Reuters contributed to this report.
