Wyden, Senators Condemn Social Security Watchdog for Declining to Investigate Agency Abuse of Death Master File

Wyden, Senators Condemn Social Security Watchdog for Declining to Investigate Agency Abuse of Death Master File

Text of the Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led seven senators criticizing the Social Security Administration's watchdog office for declining to launch an investigation into the Trump administration's efforts to use the Death Master File (DMF) to purge thousands of legal immigrants' Social Security numbers in order to make them leave the country.

Wyden and the senators raised concerns about the Office of Inspector General (OIG)'s ability to act as an independent agency safeguarding the Social Security programs that millions of people rely on. The watchdog agency relied on previous statements made by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to forego addressing serious concerns about laws that the Trump administration may have broken by declaring thousands of legal immigrants as dead.

"SSA OIG appears to have taken SSA's word as fact instead of conducting an independent review," the senators wrote to SSA Acting Inspecting General Michelle L. Anderson. "This decision is a stark departure from the office's history and mission of conducting independent oversight of the Social Security Administration and its programs."

Instead of reviewing Social Security's recent actions, OIG instead announced its decision to review incorrectly recorded deaths from the previous administration that excludes the past seven months. This new audit by OIG raises serious questions on whether its oversight work has been politicized in light of Social Security's unlawful use of the DMF.

SSA OIG has long served as an agency that conducts oversight of SSA - especially if possible laws, regulations, or policies were violated. "If federal laws were not followed, or if an individual's constitutional rights were violated due to an agency action, the public needs to know. These instances may result in ongoing harm, regardless of whether an action or initiative is still operative," the senators concluded.

In May 2025, Wyden and his Senate Democratic colleagues slammed SSA for transferring thousands of Social Security numbers associated with immigrants to its Death Master File and demanded OIG investigate SSA's actions.

Senators joining Wyden on the letter are Senators Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai'i, Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Angus King, I-Maine, Cory Booker, D-N.J., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.

The senators' letter to OIG is available here.

OIG's response to the senator's initial request is available here.

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