Access denied.
The Department of Government Efficiency, spearheaded by Elon Musk, blocked Social Security Administration employees from reading a number of “general news” sites, including The New York Times, Washington Post and Wired, one of the outlets to report the prohibition.
An email sent to SSA employees on Thursday, obtained by Rolling Stone, also showed “sports” and “online shopping” were among the categories government workers could not read about while on the clock. The email had the subject line: “Internet Browsing from Government Equipment.”
MSNBC was another one of the outlets that employees were blocked from visiting. But not every news site is on DOGE’s banned list, with employees still able to visit Axios and Politico.
“Local news blocked,” one anonymous SSA worker said in a statement. “So if there was a local shooting or something, I would not be able to see.”
The blocked sites come as Musk and DOGE have been on an aggressive cost-cutting spree within the federal bureaucracy since President Trump reentered the White House on Jan. 20.
Musk, at a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley on Wednesday, reiterated his goal with DOGE is to cut at least $1 trillion — or about 15% — from the annual federal budget. One night earlier, President Trump gave Musk a shout-out for leading the new department during his joint address before Congress.
DOGE’s cuts have led to heavy criticism from many left-leaning citizens and politicians, including from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who blasted the SpaceX boss as “not smart.”
While those Democratic politicians may not be fans of Musk and DOGE, a CBS/YouGov poll this week showed 51% of Americans “approve of Trump trying to cut staff at govt. agencies.”
Wired, as TheWrap previously reported, has been one of the main outlets breaking news on DOGE’s cuts.
The SSA employees about 60,000 people. Last week, soon after DOGE staffers were installed within the SSA, the administration announced it would be cutting 7,000 jobs.
