Musk claims there are 150-year-olds receiving Social Security benefits
Billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday claimed that a cursory review of Social Security records by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) found evidence that the safety net program is paying benefits to 150-year-olds.
Musk, who has been tasked with leading DOGE as a special government employee, spoke to reporters on Tuesday from the Oval Office of the White House with President Donald Trump and said DOGE found payments going to beneficiaries listed as being around the age of 150, though he didn't go into detail about the claims.
"There's crazy things, like, just a cursory examination of Social Security and we've got people in there that are about 150 years old," Musk said. "Now, do you know anyone that's 150? I don't. They should be in the Guinness Book of World Records, they're missing out."
"So that's the case where, like, I think they're probably dead is my guess, or they should be very famous. One of the two," he added.
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Musk went on to say that "there are a whole bunch of Social Security payments where there's no identifying information, like, why is there no identifying information?"
"Obviously, we want to make sure that people who deserve to receive Social Security do receive it, and that they receive it quickly and accurately," he added.
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Musk also spoke about his perspective on DOGE's mission in terms of reducing wasteful federal spending.
"If your taxpayer dollars are not spent in a sensible and frugal manner, then that's not okay. Your tax dollars need to be spent wisely on the things that matter to the people," Musk said.
"It's not draconian or radical, I think, it's really just saying let's look at each of the expenditures and say, is this actually in the best interest of the people, and if it is, it's approved, if it's not, we should think about it," he added.