Elon Musk's cost-cutting operation, DOGE, set off a panic in March among elderly and disabled people after proposing that the Social Security Administration scraped many of its claims services over the phone to end alleged identity fraud.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement that the phone policy and Wednesday’s retreat had caused “head-spinning chaos” that is “undermining Americans’ faith that Social Security will be there when they need it.”

Elderly and disabled people are encountering severe service disruptions as the Trump administration overhauls the Social Security Administration system.