A generation ago, singer Bob Dylan could have been commenting upon what would happen to one little-known federal worker when he wrote, “For the loser now / Will be later to win / For the times they are a-changin’.”
Are they ever. As noted by The Washington Post, Leland Dudek, who had been in charge of the Social Security Administration’s anti-fraud office, was recently named acting commissioner after the previous acting commissioner Michelle King departed.
But the story was deeper than just one manager moved into a vacancy, according to The Daily Wire.
The tale of Leland Dudek is one that offers a peek into a world of vendettas and vengeance taking place across the federal bureaucracy as the Department of Government Efficiency trains its big guns on where taxpayer money actually goes.
Dudek explained what took place in a since-deleted LinkedIn post.
“At 4:30pm EST, my boss called me to tell me I had been placed on administrative leave pending an Investigation,” Dudek wrote. “They want to fire me for cooperating with DOGE.”
“I confess. I helped DOGE understand SSA. I mailed myself publicly accessible documents and explained them to DOGE. I confess. I moved contractor money around to add data science resources to my anti-fraud team. I confess. I asked where the fat was and is in our contracts so we can make the right tough choices.”
“I confess. I bullied agency executives, shared executive contact information, and circumvented the chain of command to connect DOGE with the people who get stuff done,” the post continued.
Dudek then offered his explanation for cooperating with what has become the enemy of entrenched power: “Everything I have ever done is in service to our country, our beneficiaries, and our agency.”
The Daily Wire reported that, based on a source it did not name, Deputy Commissioner for Analytics, Review, and Oversight Gina Clemons wanted Dudek booted and was still in her post.
Billy Gribbin, a representative for Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, noted that putting fiscally responsible people in charge should happen more often.
“I hope we see more of this. There are many good civil servants who have been quietly frustrated for years with politically-motivated mismanagement who possess an encyclopedic knowledge of the problems with their agencies. Put them in charge, hand them scalpels and flamethrowers,” he posted on X.
The White House said that Social Security is in good hands, according to USA Today.
“President Trump has nominated the highly qualified and talented Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration, and we expect him to be swiftly confirmed in the coming weeks,” White House representative Harrison Fields said in a statement.
“In the meantime, the agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner. President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long,” he said.
President Donald Trump said King quit to avoid the axe.
“Resigned or got fired?” Trump said of King. “I think got fired. You know when you fire someone, they always resign, and then they say, ‘We resigned.’ But when you have numbers like that, I think really it’s got fired.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said news media accounts are “trying to fearmonger the American people” into thinking benefits are in danger.
DOGE has been called in to “identify fraud in the Social Security Administration,” she said, by finding payments that should not have been made.
“Rest assured, if you paid into the system honestly, you will continue to receive your Social Security checks,” she said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
