A Social Security official who has filed a whistleblower complaint alleging the Department of Government Efficiency mishandled Americans' sensitive information says he's resigning his post because of actions taken against him since making his complaint.
Charles Borges, the Social Security Administration's chief data officer, said the agency's leadership created a "culture of panic and dread," The Hill reported.
He has alleged that more than 300 million Americans' Social Security data was put at risk by DOGE officials who uploaded sensitive information to a cloud account not subject to oversight. His whistleblower disclosure was submitted to the special counsel's office on Tuesday.
In a letter to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano, Borges claimed that since filing his whistleblower complaint, the agency's actions have made his duties "impossible to perform legally and ethically" and have caused him "physical, mental and emotional distress."
"Recently, I have been made aware of several projects and incidents which may constitute violations of federal statutes or regulations, involve the potential safety and security of high-value data assets in the cloud, possibly provided unauthorized or inappropriate access to agency enterprise data storage solutions, and may involve unauthorized data exchange with other agencies," Borges wrote.
He said that as new leadership took over the information technology and executive offices, the staff faced an atmosphere marked by secrecy and fear.
"As these events evolved, newly installed leadership in IT and executive offices created a culture of panic and dread, with minimal information sharing, frequent discussions on employee termination, and general organizational dysfunction," he wrote.
Borges added that many employees were unwilling to raise concerns out of fear of retribution, and his own requests for clarification were "rebuffed or ignored by agency leadership."
He said the situation left him unable to fulfill his oversight role, calling the conditions "intolerable" and harmful to his health.
"I cannot verify that agency data is being used in accordance with legal agreements or in compliance with federal requirements," he wrote.
"The escalating and relentless daily stress of lack of visibility and exclusion from decision-making on these activities, silence from leadership, and anxiety and fear over potential illegal actions resulting in the loss of citizen data, is more than a reasonable employee could bear."
Created to combat waste, fraud, and abuse, DOGE has drawn cheers from conservatives and criticism from liberals.
President Donald Trump has lauded the agency started by Elon Musk for uncovering fraud such as sending Social Security checks to people supposedly alive at 130 years old.
Democrats and privacy advocates accused the agency of improperly collecting personal data for undisclosed purposes. Lawmakers said unvetted hires lacked the necessary security clearances to view sensitive files.
Reports show that some DOGE staffers, recruited by former White House adviser Musk, were as young as 20 when given access to confidential data.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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