Who is Charles Borges? SSA whistleblower quits after flagging DOGE data leak; writes blistering email

Social Security Administration’s (SSA) chief data officer Charles Borges

Social Security Administration’s (SSA) chief data officer Charles Borges has resigned, days after filing a whistleblower complaint that alledged DOGE of jeopardising sensitive personal data of millions of Americans. Borges, who assumed charge as SSA’s data chief in January 2025, said in his resignation letter that the agency had taken steps which made it “impossible” for him to perform his role “legally and ethically,” adding that the situation had caused him “much distress”, and is leaving his post “involuntarily. “Due to my concerns regarding SSA’s questionable and potentially unlawful data management practices, and the inability to exercise my statutory duties as CDO, I believe my position is untenable. This constitutes an intolerable working environment for a Chief Executive tasked with specific responsibilities and accountability,” Borges wrote in his letter to SSA administrator Frank Bisignano. On Tuesday, he filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that DOGE employees embedded in the agency had created a duplicate of SSA’s massive records on a vulnerable cloud server, thereby putting at risk the personal information of over 300 million Americans. The data set includes names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and other identifiers. “Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, could lose vital healthcare and food benefits, and the government may be forced to reissue every American a new Social Security Number at enormous cost,” Borges warned in the filing. The disclosure has been sent to the Office of Special Counsel and congressional committees, with Borges urging lawmakers to initiate oversight action. Responding, the SSA said it reviews all whistleblower complaints seriously and emphasised that personal data continues to be stored in secure systems with strong safeguards. In June, the US Supreme Court halted a lower court ruling that had barred DOGE from handling the data and sent the case back to a federal appeals court. The lawsuit, filed by two labour unions and an advocacy group, had challenged DOGE’s unprecedented authority, though a divided appeals court recently upheld the agency’s decision.Borges, a Navy veteran, has previously served with the General Services Administration, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Centers for Disease Control.