On today’s show: The top Social Security official exited after a clash with Elon Musk’s DOGE over data. The Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage explains what is happening. Are 150-year-old Americans receiving Social Security checks, as Elon Musk said? Poynter examines the claim. Trump proposed eliminating FEMA and putting states in charge of disaster response. Politico reports red states don’t like that idea. Counter-narcotics programs in Mexico are suffering because of the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid. Reuters’s Laura Gottesdiener explains the reporting. Plus, Trump signs an executive order aimed at making IVF treatment more affordable. Israel and Hamas agreed to expedite a hostage and prisoner release by one week. And how did everyone survive the Delta plane crash in Toronto? Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
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Good morning. It's Wednesday, February 19th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the debate over the future of FEMA, how Trump's freeze on foreign aid hurts efforts to fight fentanyl trafficking from Mexico, and how everyone survived that upside-down plane crash in Toronto.
But first, to the Social Security Administration, where the acting commissioner resigned over the weekend after members of Elon Musk's government efficiency team requested access to the agency's internal data. That includes things like employment information, financial data and medical records.
Jacob Bogage, The Washington Post's congressional economic correspondent, told us who has been tapped to step in and temporarily lead the agency. Leland Dudek, who managed Social Security's anti-fraud office.
By all accounts, Leland Dudek was very qualified to do what he did in anti-fraud protection and social security. But I've talked to folks in and around social security leadership about him, and their first question was, who are you talking to me about? Who is this guy? No one really knows.
The Post reports that Dudek had posted positive remarks on social media about Musk's efforts to cut costs at federal agencies before he was tapped for this role, which is, again, a temporary one. President Trump's pick to lead the agency long term, Frank Bisignano, still has to go through a Senate confirmation process.
The Social Security Administration is responsible for managing pension payments to more than 70 million Americans. Musk says he's uncovered widespread waste and fraud at the agency, though neither he nor the White House have yet shared evidence to support those claims.
During a press conference from the Oval Office last week, Musk said his team found examples of people receiving Social Security benefits when they shouldn't have been.
We've got people in there that are 150 years old. Now, do you know anyone who's 150? I don't. Okay. They should be on the Guinness Book of World Records.
Bogach told us Musk is most likely misreading the agency's data because of a quirk in how birthdates are coded in its very old programming language.
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