White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt asked NBC reporter Peter Alexander if he was “defending” fraudulent payments from Social Security during a Friday gaggle with reporters.

President Donald Trump appointed Leland Dudek, the head of the Social Security Administration’s anti-fraud office, as acting head of the agency after Michelle King resigned following a clash with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees. Alexander pressed Leavitt over her comments regarding reports of waste and fraud in Social Security.

“It’s a clever question. First of all, I think all Americans would agree that funding mastectomies in Mozambique is not something that the American people should be funding — or DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] programs — I think it’s fraudulent that the American government has been ripping off taxpayers in this way,” Leavitt told Alexander. “And we also do know there has been extensive fraud, particularly if you look at Social Security. In fact, according to an IG [Inspector General] report from the Social Security Administration, there was $71 billion worth of fraud in one single fiscal year that we know about. And so, that is a lot of fraud, Peter, that the government has admitted to. So this administration is committed to finding even more of that fraud, waste and abuse.”

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“To be clear, that $71 billion was from 2015 to 2022, so it wasn’t in just one year —” Alexander asserted, with Leavitt responding, “$71 billion.”

The Social Security Administration’s inspector general reported in August of 2024 that the agency made at least $71 billion in improper payments between fiscal years 2015 and 2022. After returning to office, Trump immediately established DOGE in a Jan. 20 executive order to fulfill his campaign promise to eliminate federal waste. According to the DOGE website, at least $55 billion in savings have been identified since it was formed on Jan. 20.

After a back and forth, during which Alexander argued that the improper payments from the Social Security Administration were over the course of several years, Leavitt responded by asking if the reporter was “defending” the government’s misuse of the funds.

“So are you defending $71 billion in fraud, Peter? That’s a lot of money. Far too much. And that’s why this administration — why is the media so against cutting waste, fraud and abuse from the government? I don’t get it,” Leavitt said, with Alexander responding, “I just want to ask a question.”