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Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have said tens of thousands of people have incorrectly claimed unemployment benefits from the federal government.
Newsweek has contacted DOGE for comment via email outside regular working hours.
Why It Matters
Upon returning to office on January 20, President Donald Trump created DOGE by executive order to slim down government spending and restructure the federal workforce. Proponents of the task force, which Musk heads, argue that it is rooting out fraud and waste in the federal budget. However, critics say DOGE has cut essential programs and staff.
Elon Musk walking to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington, D.C., on March 9. Elon Musk walking to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington, D.C., on March 9. Samuel Corum/GETTY
What To Know
On Wednesday, DOGE posted figures on X, formerly Twitter, that it said were for incorrect unemployment insurance payments.
Unemployment insurance pays benefits to eligible applicants who lose their job through no fault of their own. It is administered by state governments and is funded by state and federal payroll taxes levied on employers and workers. Most states offer 26 weeks’ worth of unemployment benefits.
According to DOGE, since 2020, 24,500 individuals over the age of 115 have claimed a total of $59 million in benefits; 28,000 claimants between the ages of 1 and 5 received $254 million; and 9,700 people with birth dates more than 15 years in the future were paid $69 million in benefits.
In one case, a claimant recorded as being born in the year 2154 received $41,000, DOGE said.
The task force did not include the source of the data in its X post. It also remains unclear whether these cases involve data input errors.
Musk commented on the post:
Elon Musk Issues Warning Over Unemployment Claims
