Tiffany Flick, a former Social Security official, detailed what she sees as a “significant” risk of sensitive government data heading into the wrong hands under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Flick, who worked at the Social Security Administration (SSA) for almost 30 years, outlined her concern in part of a federal lawsuit about the fraught takeover of the agency as DOGE officials seek to reduce federal spending.
She became acting chief of staff to the SSA’s acting commissioner in January before retiring a month later as DOGE officials new to the agency took on greater and greater roles and influence, pushing out the previous leader of the administration.
Her 13-page legal brief is the first in-depth public account from a government executive about how DOGE has gained access to sensitive information on its mission to decrease the workforce. Flick’s retelling was first reported by The Washington Post.
“I am not confident that DOGE associated have the requisite knowledge and training to prevent sensitive information from being inadvertently transferred to bad actors,” she said in the filing.
Flick highlighted the various payments that SSA oversees for nearly 72 million people across the country. She said through her career at SSA, they have prioritized protecting the sensitive data stored within the department and governed by numerous privacy laws.
She said she was first informed by Leland Dudek, a “mid-level employee,” about DOGE officials working at SSA on Jan. 30.
One of those DOGE employees, Mike Russo, spoke with senior SSA executives and told them to accept the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer. Flick said she later only had limited knowledge to what Russo and DOGE officials were doing within the agency.
Flick accused Russo and DOGE of examining “untrue allegations” about payments that she deemed “invalid” based on an “inaccurate understanding” of the agency’s data and programs. She said they were never provided reasoning or evidence that inappropriate payments were being made, and Russo dismissed offers to meet for clarification.
She said Russo was meeting with other agencies, including the Treasury Department, Education Department and Department of Homeland Security, about data sharing.
“While data sharing with these agencies is normal, Mr. Russo’s lack of transparency with the Acting Commissioner about those conversations is not,” Flick wrote.
Russo and another official requested access to SSA’s systems and data, asking for “everything, including source code,” she wrote, noting that the agency would not typically provide such information to even its most skilled experts. After being granted access to some data, they then went to the Office of Management and Budget to override the process and gain access to more, Flick said.
She argued that the requests were contrary to the agency’s “long-standing privacy protection policies and regulations,” particularly since they could not show why they needed such expansive access to the data.
Dudek — who was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 14 amid an administrative investigation about inappropriate actions — was named acting commissioner of SSA days later by the White House, bypassing other senior executives, prompting Flick to retire.
Acting Commissioner Michelle King departed from the agency that weekend after refusing to provide DOGE with sensitive information. The White House then appointed Dudek to lead the agency while Frank Bisignano awaits Senate confirmation.
Upon her retirement, Flick said she was aware that DOGE officials were granted access to the information she and King sought to keep private. Those DOGE officials, she said, are working across departments and with people who have not been vetted by SSA’s privacy and security protocols.
“In such a chaotic environment, the risk of data leaking into the wrong hands is significant,” Flick wrote.
She highlighted that Social Security benefits and payments could not be paid out or be delayed, and she is not confident that critical errors would be avoided.
“SSA serves practically every American in this country. And the agency administers more than $1.5 trillion dollars of the American economy. And we understand the seriousness of our responsibility to the people of this country,” she concluded. “A disregard for our careful privacy systems and processes now threatens the security the data SSA houses about millions of Americans. The stakes are high.”
