Elon Musk has accused Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of having ulterior motives for defending "fraud" in the federal government.
Musk was responding to a post from Schumer claiming that DOGE is "sabotaging Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid."
“Chuck, I’m starting to think you’re getting a piece of the action with the government fraud,” Musk wrote on X. “But no, that couldn’t possibly be the reason, could it?”
“Another Elon lie,” Schumer replied. “He wants you to think anyone who dares to stand up to him is committing fraud, meanwhile he’s taking tens of billions from the government."
Programs like Medicare and Social Security have long been considered untouchable by politicians in both parties, and President Donald Trump has pledged to leave them alone.
But Democrats, still struggling to oppose Trump months after his historic re-election, have cast Musk's work through DOGE as a sinister effort to snatch benefits from the poor and elderly.
"Make no mistake: What Elon Musk is doing at Social Security is cutting benefits," Schumer said in another post.
"The intern running Schumer’s social media account is lying," Musk replied.
While DOGE is not cutting payments -- benefits are mandated by Congress -- Democrats say Musk is creating chaos for beneficiaries that is just as bad.
"When offices close down, when websites crash, when phone lines shut off, that's no different than cutting benefits," Schumer said.
Musk claims to have exposed rampant fraud within the system, accusing Democrats of enrolling illegal aliens in Social Security to buy up votes.
It was not long ago that Democrats shared Musk's concerns about fraud. A 1996 clip of Schumer that Musk shared shows the senator calling for checks on Social Security fraud to discourage illegal immigration.
“One way to prove you’re a bona fide person who has a job is to ask for a driver’s license and a social security card,” Schumer said in the clip. “If you want to stop fraud in immigration, you have no choice but to support this amendment.”
Schumer has been a fixture in Washington, D.C. for decades, but his handling of a recent spending battle with Trump and the GOP has raised questions among Democrats about Schumer's leadership. Some Democrats think Schumer has been too cautious in the face of Trump's aggressive overhaul of the government.
In his latest bold move, Trump facilitated the listing of thousands of immigrants on the Social Security rolls as deceased to encourage self-deportation.
