100 days of DOGE

The service windows were all shuttered, save for one.

Michelle Parrish has long thought “strictly functional” is a forgiving description of the Glendale Social Security Administration (SSA) office’s interior design. The striking emptiness added to the eerie ambiance. But this visit was bleaker than those prior—and not for any lack of crowds or wall art.

“The communication [with SSA] about [my son’s] benefits have been odd since about February. Odd like concerning,” Parrish said.

Her 25-year-old son, Sean McKnight, has relied on federal social programs since he was 12 years old. As he got older, he became a danger to himself and others and began receiving Medi-Cal insurance—California’s Medicaid program—to cover medical expenses, including those related to his disabilities. As an adult, he receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to help pay for the expenses of housing and programs specific to his needs.

“It makes his quality of life possible,” Parrish said. “If [paying for McKnight’s care] were up to us, if I were to market price it, it would be between $10,000 to $20,000 a month.”

Navigating the system to get McKnight the support he needs was never easy, Parrish said. It took nearly a year and legal help to secure the SSI benefits in the first place. But she fell into a routine of sending in McKnight’s paystubs and filling out the required forms to keep his SSI.

On Feb. 28, the SSA announced its plans to “reduce the size of its bloated workforce” and downsize its organizational structure to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders. This restructuring and downsizing of over 12 percent of SSA’s workforce comes after Trump made vows on the campaign trail and in the White House not to touch the old-age and disability insurance program.

Since then, the safety net that the SSA provided for McKnight started unraveling. Anticipated updates on adjustments to his SSI were no longer appearing in her mailbox each month. Instead of the customary triannual redetermination form she was expecting this year, Parrish received an “unusual” letter on March 7: She had two business days to schedule a call, or McKnight’s benefits would be cut off.

During the call, Parrish learned she’d need to reapply entirely to keep his supplemental income. Seven months of McKnight’s pay stubs, previously submitted, were now “inaccessible.”

“Psychologically, that’s stressful,” she said.

Two days later, Parrish handed over fresh copies of the documents at the SSA service window. There was no timeline for a decision given. When asked if McKnight’s payments would continue in the meantime, the representative offered only a grunt before sliding the window shut. Parrish rode the elevator down, her stomach knotted.

The acting head of the Social Security Administration Leland Dudek acknowledged on March 3 that Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team, the Department of Government Efficiency, is driving the agency’s pare down.

DOGE has also had access to the databases of the SSA at the invitation of its new leadership and at least 19 other agencies since January, even though there is no proof that DOGE’s employees have gone through the required training to protect federal records or completed department-specific training. Lawmakers have raised alarms about consequent cybersecurity concerns, and legal cases about DOGE’s access are ongoing.

Musk said on social media that his goal is to investigate “extreme levels” of fraud taking place at the SSA, which was debunked by the Office of the Inspector General and Acting Commissioner Dudek himself.

“[Trump and DOGE] are not going through the proper channels of Congress to make these decisions,” Parrish said. “They are creating a situation where, yes, technically they're not cutting these services, but they are gutting the workforce to create an implosion of the system, at which point they can say, yes, the system has failed.”

In addition to staffing cuts, dozens of SSA offices across the country are slated to close this year despite new identity-proofing requirements, which will force millions of Americans to verify their identity online or visit field offices.

Current SSA employees are warning that thinning their increasingly strained workforce could impact beneficiaries in various ways, such as longer waits for application decisions and for customer service.

In late February, SSA emailed all staff to warn of "significant workforce reductions," offering financial incentives to employees with over 25 years of experience to resign. A Social Security employee told CBS News under the condition of anonymity that morale at the agency is at an "all-time low."

Hafiz Akinteye, a cyber defense analyst for the U.S. Space Force at Vandenberg Space Force Base, received similar emails.

“I was very worried about losing my job, as anybody,” he said. “And I'm also probationary, so I was even more worried because I'm more likely to be laid off for whatever reason.”

Akinteye moved across the country to San Luis Obispo County for this position. When he joined the Space Force, he was excited about their mission and the possibility of upward mobility.

“Things were feeling pretty good. Things were really stable. Things were looking like they were looking up—a lot of potential for growth.”

The looming layoffs have pushed him to consider backup plans for employment and to work harder, despite his rather reluctant acknowledgement that he already gets glowing reviews from his supervisor.

The Trump administration’s government job cuts have affected an estimated 200,000 positions and have caused $22 billion in lost wages nationwide, per USA Today’s reporting.

“I think it’s unfair,” Akinteye said. “Especially since we know that a lot of people in the federal public sector are very much underpaid despite their talent. They do what they do because they love their country… they do it because they want to provide value and service.”

The Trump administration and DOGE’s funding cuts don’t stop at retracting government employee’s contracts.

A Cal Poly professor, speaking anonymously due to fears of the administration’s appetite for retribution, is involved in multiple research projects. While grants for ongoing projects remain intact, funding for future endeavors seems uncertain. Recently, negotiations about a grant he was awarded ended abruptly when a meeting was canceled hours before, and the professor hasn’t heard from them since.

Like Akinteye, the professor has thrown himself into his work, and he has uncharacteristically avoided the news.

“Nothing I see is going to make me happy.”

The Cal Poly professor is “holding his breath” to see if his existing research grants remain secure.

April Cole, a spokesperson for Lumina Alliance, conveyed that she and her fellow staff members are also “waiting with bated breath” to see if regularly disbursed federal grant money, some of which is filtered through state grants, will arrive.

Lumina Alliance, the only rape crisis center in San Luis Obispo County, is currently receiving funds that were already approved by Congress. Roughly 47 percent of their budget comes from federal grants.

However, future federal grants tied to the Violence Against Women Act remain uncertain. In February, the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women removed all current funding opportunities and told applicants to abandon applications due to a funding freeze imposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in January. The OMB had directed agencies to pause funds pending a review of compatibility with executive orders related to immigration, “illegal DEI,” and “woke gender ideology.” While a judge's restraining order temporarily blocked the freeze, the staff of Lumina Alliance are uncertain if those grants will become available again.

“We serve survivors that identify as, you know, women, men, we serve trans folks and the LGBTQI+ plus community. We serve undocumented folks, we do not ask for disclosure,” Cole said. “So there's a lot of pieces there that are possibly something that could eliminate us from future funding if we're continuing down this path.”

The rape crisis center has received communication that future federal funding opportunities may exclude organizations that serve undocumented communities or have diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

“We’ve seen other nonprofits remove any verbiage surrounding undocumented individuals or DEI initiatives. We will not do that,” the Lumina Alliance spokesperson said. “We will never back down from being allies to the LGBTQI+ community, trans folks, undocumented people, or anybody that needs our help.”

But if that solidarity leads to federal funding cuts, Lumina Alliance eventually may not be able to provide its services at the same capacity, or not at all.

“People come to us who are in their darkest moments. And, you know, we're the only organization in the county that will send an advocate to stand by that survivor’s side and let them know what their rights are and hold their hand while they get their exam.” Cole said. “Without that kind of advocacy, that community, I mean, thousands, tens of thousands of people will be left to suffer alone.”

Other services Lumina Alliance provides are in-house therapy, emergency shelters, transitional housing, consent education for high schools, crisis counseling, connections to outside resources, and a 24/7 hotline.

Cole echoes the sentiments of Parrish, Akinteye and the Cal Poly professor as she expresses wariness towards the current administration’s policies.

“I think that any time an administration targets the most vulnerable people in a population, that's a very dangerous place to be because it creates a culture of hatred and discrimination and violence,” Cole said. “Everybody has a place, everybody has a voice, everybody deserves to be protected.”