Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum didn’t hold back during a tense exchange with Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) on “The Story,” taking him to task over the Democratic Party’s unwillingness to confront growing concerns about waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs—specifically Social Security.
At the heart of the clash was a recent report from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which exposed significant fraud and mismanagement within the Social Security system. While DOGE has made headlines under the leadership of Elon Musk for uncovering billions in taxpayer waste, Democrats continue to downplay the findings. Senator Coons was no exception.
Coons attempted to dismiss the report by citing the Social Security Administration’s internal estimate that fraud and overpayments represent less than 0.1% of total disbursements. But MacCallum was quick to push back. “Less than 0.1% of $1.6 trillion is still a huge amount of money,” she said, referring to Social Security’s projected payout for 2025. “That’s over a billion dollars of taxpayer money. Shouldn’t we care where it’s going?”
Rather than engage directly with the substance of the report, Coons shifted the focus to DOGE’s access to federal records and expressed concern about Elon Musk’s leadership, even taking issue with Musk’s previous comments referring to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme.”
MacCallum wasn’t having it. “You can disagree with how Elon Musk describes the program, but the numbers speak for themselves,” she said. “The American people want to know their money is going to those who actually earned it—not to fraudsters gaming the system.”
When pressed on whether Democrats had any real plan to tackle the fraud or to make Social Security sustainable for future generations, Coons deflected again, questioning the credibility of DOGE and implying that the agency’s findings were politically motivated.
That’s when MacCallum delivered the line that’s already making waves online: “You can’t just put your fingers in your ears and go ‘blah blah blah’ like it’s not happening!”
“You can’t just put your fingers in your ear and going ‘blah blah blah, it’s not happening!'”
Things get HEATED when Fox News’ Martha McCallum calls out Sen. Chris Coons for ignoring the waste, fraud, and abuse found by DOGE. pic.twitter.com/DVopEYRakU
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 2, 2025
The confrontation exposed a broader issue that’s becoming increasingly difficult for Democrats to ignore: the growing perception that they’re more interested in protecting bloated government programs than in reforming them. As watchdog agencies continue to uncover serious abuses in programs like Social Security, Medicare, and welfare, the pressure is mounting on lawmakers to act.
The Biden administration and its allies in Congress have repeatedly resisted Republican-led efforts to introduce common-sense safeguards—such as tighter eligibility checks and real-time fraud monitoring—that could save taxpayers billions. Instead, they’ve chosen to attack the messengers and downplay the scope of the problem.
Meanwhile, the American public, especially working-class taxpayers and younger generations, are demanding answers. With Social Security headed toward insolvency in the coming years, the refusal to even acknowledge fraud and inefficiency is fueling frustration across the political spectrum.
MacCallum’s sharp rebuke of Senator Coons captured the sentiment of millions: the time for denial and political games is over. The federal government owes the American people more than empty reassurances—it owes them accountability, transparency, and results.