'Come crashing down': Ex-GOP rep admits MAGA could revolt if Trump 'breaks' Social Security

18 February

President Donald Trump's base is still with him, though that may change if he allows centabillionaire Elon Musk to make big changes to Americans' Social Security money.

That's according to former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), who joined MSNBC on Tuesday to comment on the potential for retirees to see any reduction in their earned benefits during Trump's second term. The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the acting administrator of the Social Security Administration resigned over the weekend after refusing to hand over Americans' sensitive data to Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE (which is not an official federal agency authorized by Congress). The new acting administrator, who has praised DOGE's efforts, reportedly leapfrogged several other senior-level officials to get the role.

While Curbelo argued that Trump was elected in part because of his promises to rein in bureaucratic red tape, he suggested that the administration should be careful to not overplay its hand when it comes to Social Security.

"Until something breaks, I think the president and his team are going to have a lot of support for this idea of shaking up government, of making government more efficient, of getting rid of incompetence or excessive bureaucracy in government. I think most Americans will get behind that. Definitely the Trump base," he said. "But when something breaks — if something breaks — that's when this could really all come crashing down."

According to the Post, Michelle King — the acting administrator who resigned — is being replaced by Leland Dudek, who comes from the agency's anti-fraud office. Legal journalist Chris Geidner observed on Bluesky that King was Trump's "day one pick" to lead the Social Security Administration, making her abrupt resignation in the face of DOGE's demands to sensitive information that much more noteworthy.

Curbelo emphasized that there is both practical risk for Social Security recipients as well as a political risk for Trump if beneficiaries see an interruption in their Social Security payments. He also pointed out that there could be significant backlash over his mass firings of federal workers.

"If people's personal information gets leaked, if the way the administration is treating some of these employees, if there's lawsuits. And of course, whenever there's a lawsuit, there's a discovery process and a lot of information that otherwise wouldn't become public becomes public," he continued. "If it appears that the administration is being abusive or cruel with federal employees who are simply trying to do their jobs, that's when the public could stop supporting this kind of effort."

Watch Curbelo's segment below, or by clicking this link.

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