According to NBC News, Donald Trump has reaffirmed his pledge not to cut Social Security. Elon Musk's growing influence in federal cost-cutting has raised tensions within the Republican Party. Musk oversees the Department of Government Efficiency and  recently called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme." Musk’s plan to cut up to $2 trillion in federal spending would likely require reductions to entitlement programs like Social Security. Improper payments comprised less than 1 of benefits from 2015 to 2022.