WATCH: Karoline Leavitt Sets The Record Straight, Shuts Down Democrats’ DOGE Narrative

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump-whispering White House press secretary, decisively shut down one of the Democrats’ key narratives about his cost-cutting measures on Fox News Monday night.

Speaking with Sean Hannity, the combustible New Hampshire native ripped critics of President Donald Trump for smearing the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency as an unconstitutional hatchet chopping away vast swaths of the federal bureaucracy. Central to Democrats’ argument has been fear-mongering that Social Security payments will be reduced or delayed for recipients as a result.

Leavitt sought to quell those fears on Monday night.

“President Trump has directed Elon Musk and the DOGE team to identify fraud at the Social Security Administration,” she said. “They haven’t dug into the books yet, but they suspect that there are tens of millions of deceased people who are receiving fraudulent Social Security payments.”

She outlined three goals of the DOGE investigation: identifying and ending duplicate payments, ending payments to deceased people, and “protecting the integrity of the system for hardworking Americans who have been paying into it their entire lives.”

“Rest assured to everyone watching tonight,” she promised, “if you paid into the system honestly, you will continue to receive your Social Security checks. Do not buy into the lies from the legacy fake news media.”

WATCH:

That Leavitt would go beyond the White House briefing room to emphasize the administration’s intent to protect Social Security underscores how seriously the president is taking the allegation that he would deprive seniors, a key voting bloc, of their retirement checks. Nearly two in three senior citizens say they are satisfied with the current state of Social Security, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Voters over the age of 65 also make up a constituency where President Trump has traditionally lagged compared to his gains made with younger and middle-aged voters.

Democrats on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee have warned of “unprecedented” data breaches if Musk and DOGE are granted access to SSA records. Earlier this month, ranking member Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles outlining the caucus’s concerns, according to The Hill.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) called for DOGE to exercise restraint as it enters an area of the federal bureaucracy that millions depend on.

“Keep your hands off our Social Security, because this has nothing, nothing to do with government efficiency,” he yelled at a Washington, D.C. rally outside the SSA offices last week. His words were echoed by Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).

“It is America’s promise to us when we paid into Social Security,” Alsobrooks said, CNBC reported. “And yet this is under attack even today.”

A White House spokesperson pushed back on both Democratic senators’ remarks.

“The president remains committed to his promise not to touch [Social Security],” they said while emphasizing Trump’s commitment to end the tax on benefits. “Any work from DOGE is to find fraud, which they’ve successfully done.”