Social Security Administration
At the Social Security Administration Dudek worked in the anti-fraud office. Dudek was put on leave by SSA leadership for sharing information with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) without authorization,but shortly thereafter President Donald Trump replaced acting commissioner Michelle King with Dudek on February 16,2025. On Dudek's social media he has praised DOGE.
During Dudek's tenure as acting commissioner he reduced funding for research programs and demoted senior executives who were responsible for him being placed on paid leave. He has proposed digitizing Social Security cards. On March 6,SSA employees were barred from accessing certain sites,including news sites,which hampered their ability to view obituaries,which are used to prevent fraud. He threatened to cease the operations of the SSA after DOGE staffers were blocked from accessing SSA data by a court ruling,but retracted this threat.
In February 2025,Maine Governor Janet Mills told President Donald Trump that she would follow the law after he demanded Maine ban transgender athletes from women's sports,resulting in Trump threatening to remove funding to Maine,while Mills threatened a lawsuit. Later that month,Dudek told Social Security Administration staff to "cancel the contracts" regarding Maine,declaring:"While our improper payments will go up,and fraudsters may compromise identities,no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child",in reference to Mills.
In March 2025,Maine authorities reported that the Social Security Administration cancelled Maine's contracts for the Enumeration at Birth and Electronic Death Records programs. The Enumeration at Birth program,which was rolled out nationally in 1989,allowed parents to request their newborn children's Social Security numbers at hospitals,and 99% of children received their numbers this way,reported the Social Security Administration. The contract cancellation necessitated Maine parents to travel to a Social Security office to obtain their newborn's Social Security number. When the contract cancellations were made public,no reason was given for the cancellations. Within a week,the Maine contracts were restored,with Dudek saying:"ending these contracts created an undue burden on the people of Maine,which was not the intent. For that,I apologize". Later,Dudek told the media that he ordered the initial change in Maine because:"I was ticked at the governor of Maine for not being real cordial to the president …I screwed up."
In April 2025,The Washington Post reported that Dudek was persuaded by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to instruct the Social Security Administration to falsely list over 6,000 living immigrants in their database of dead people,despite Dudek's initial belief that this action was illegal.
U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly,the highest ranking Democratic member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,sent a letter to Dudek on April 2,calling on him to resign. Dudek compared his role as commissioner to Oskar Schindler's efforts to save Jews during the Holocaust. Dudek was placed on administrative leave and was succeeded by Frank Bisignano. An op-ed written by Dudek in support of Trump was published by the New York Post on May 6,his last day as commissioner.
