The involvement of Antonio Gracias, an investor who has known Elon Musk for two decades, suggests that Mr. Musk has made overhauling the Social Security Administration a priority.

The two maintain that they won’t attack the program, but their repeated claims of rampant fraud serve a strategic purpose.

Senate Finance Committee Democrats, led by Ron Wyden, to convene a hearing to investigate recent developments at the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Elon Musk has claimed that Social Security and other welfare programmes are plagued by fraud and improper payments, arguing that cutting $500 billion to $700 billion in government waste should be a key priority.

When Democrats enjoyed a major blue wave in the 2006 midterms and recaptured both chambers of Congress — an outcome then-President George W. Bush famously acknowledged as a "thumpin'" — pundits cited two main factors for voters' anger at Republicans: the Iraq War and Bush's proposal to privatize Social Security.