Musk and Trump have made repeated debunked claims that droves of dead people are getting Social Security checks. Musk has characterized the program as a "Ponzi scheme" lousy with fraud, and has repeated a false conspiracy theory that undocumented immigrants receive payments.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum intended to curb fraud in Social Security programs, a campaign that has been a key focus for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.Tuesday’s directive is aimed at restricting undocumented immigrants from accessing Social Security retirement benefits,