President Donald Trump arrives to speak to the press in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on August 4, 2020. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Warnings of 'Unconstitutional' Assault on Social Security as Trump Threatens Unilateral Suspension of Payroll Tax
"Donald Trump is so desperate to defund Social Security, he may rip the Constitution to shreds to make it happen."
President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he is considering circumventing Congress to unilaterally suspend collection of the payroll tax, a move advocacy groups and lawmakers said would be an "unconstitutional" abuse of power and a destructive attack on Social Security funding.
Trump said during a Covid-19 press briefing that his administration is examining a variety of potential executive orders should Congress fail to reach an agreement on the next stimulus package by the end of the week, a deadline Democratic leaders and the White House set on Tuesday.
"We are looking at it," the president said of an executive order to extend enhanced unemployment benefits that expired last week. "We're also looking at various other things that I'm allowed to do under the system, and--such as the payroll tax suspension. And so we're allowed to do things."
Slashing or suspending the payroll tax has long been an obsession of Trump and his right-wing economic advisers, including Stephen Moore. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, Moore urged Trump to "declare a national economic emergency and announce that the Internal Revenue Service will immediately stop collecting the payroll tax."
But legal experts doubt the president has the authority to suspend the payroll tax through executive action. Mark Mazur, director of the Tax Policy Institute, noted in an interview with Roll Call this week that only Congress has the power to halt collection of taxes.
"Donald Trump is so desperate to defund Social Security, he may rip the Constitution to shreds to make it happen," progressive advocacy group Social Security Works tweeted.
\u201c"Suspend the Payroll Tax" = DEFUND SOCIAL SECURITY\n\nDefunding Social Security without Congressional approval = Unconstitutional\n\nHands off our earned benefits!\u201d— Social Security Works (@Social Security Works) 1596576949
Senate Republicans ultimately excluded any cut to the payroll tax--Social Security's primary funding mechanism--from their coronavirus stimulus package as the proposal remains unpopular on both sides of the aisle.
In a joint statement on Monday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) said "Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate have rejected the president's proposal to include a payroll tax cut in the next Covid-19 response package, yet the president remains fixated on the foolhardy idea."
"A payroll tax cut does not help unemployed Americans--the group of people most in need right now--and it would drain money from Social Security and Medicare," said Neal and Larson. "It is difficult to fathom a worse moment to weaken these lifelines than during a pandemic and crushing economic recession."
"While Republicans have long sought to gut these earned benefits," the lawmakers added, "doubling down on those efforts while the Covid crisis rages on would be particularly heartless."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he is considering circumventing Congress to unilaterally suspend collection of the payroll tax, a move advocacy groups and lawmakers said would be an "unconstitutional" abuse of power and a destructive attack on Social Security funding.
Trump said during a Covid-19 press briefing that his administration is examining a variety of potential executive orders should Congress fail to reach an agreement on the next stimulus package by the end of the week, a deadline Democratic leaders and the White House set on Tuesday.
"We are looking at it," the president said of an executive order to extend enhanced unemployment benefits that expired last week. "We're also looking at various other things that I'm allowed to do under the system, and--such as the payroll tax suspension. And so we're allowed to do things."
Slashing or suspending the payroll tax has long been an obsession of Trump and his right-wing economic advisers, including Stephen Moore. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, Moore urged Trump to "declare a national economic emergency and announce that the Internal Revenue Service will immediately stop collecting the payroll tax."
But legal experts doubt the president has the authority to suspend the payroll tax through executive action. Mark Mazur, director of the Tax Policy Institute, noted in an interview with Roll Call this week that only Congress has the power to halt collection of taxes.
"Donald Trump is so desperate to defund Social Security, he may rip the Constitution to shreds to make it happen," progressive advocacy group Social Security Works tweeted.
\u201c"Suspend the Payroll Tax" = DEFUND SOCIAL SECURITY\n\nDefunding Social Security without Congressional approval = Unconstitutional\n\nHands off our earned benefits!\u201d— Social Security Works (@Social Security Works) 1596576949
Senate Republicans ultimately excluded any cut to the payroll tax--Social Security's primary funding mechanism--from their coronavirus stimulus package as the proposal remains unpopular on both sides of the aisle.
In a joint statement on Monday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) said "Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate have rejected the president's proposal to include a payroll tax cut in the next Covid-19 response package, yet the president remains fixated on the foolhardy idea."
"A payroll tax cut does not help unemployed Americans--the group of people most in need right now--and it would drain money from Social Security and Medicare," said Neal and Larson. "It is difficult to fathom a worse moment to weaken these lifelines than during a pandemic and crushing economic recession."
"While Republicans have long sought to gut these earned benefits," the lawmakers added, "doubling down on those efforts while the Covid crisis rages on would be particularly heartless."
President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he is considering circumventing Congress to unilaterally suspend collection of the payroll tax, a move advocacy groups and lawmakers said would be an "unconstitutional" abuse of power and a destructive attack on Social Security funding.
Trump said during a Covid-19 press briefing that his administration is examining a variety of potential executive orders should Congress fail to reach an agreement on the next stimulus package by the end of the week, a deadline Democratic leaders and the White House set on Tuesday.
"We are looking at it," the president said of an executive order to extend enhanced unemployment benefits that expired last week. "We're also looking at various other things that I'm allowed to do under the system, and--such as the payroll tax suspension. And so we're allowed to do things."
Slashing or suspending the payroll tax has long been an obsession of Trump and his right-wing economic advisers, including Stephen Moore. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, Moore urged Trump to "declare a national economic emergency and announce that the Internal Revenue Service will immediately stop collecting the payroll tax."
But legal experts doubt the president has the authority to suspend the payroll tax through executive action. Mark Mazur, director of the Tax Policy Institute, noted in an interview with Roll Call this week that only Congress has the power to halt collection of taxes.
"Donald Trump is so desperate to defund Social Security, he may rip the Constitution to shreds to make it happen," progressive advocacy group Social Security Works tweeted.
\u201c"Suspend the Payroll Tax" = DEFUND SOCIAL SECURITY\n\nDefunding Social Security without Congressional approval = Unconstitutional\n\nHands off our earned benefits!\u201d— Social Security Works (@Social Security Works) 1596576949
Senate Republicans ultimately excluded any cut to the payroll tax--Social Security's primary funding mechanism--from their coronavirus stimulus package as the proposal remains unpopular on both sides of the aisle.
In a joint statement on Monday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) said "Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate have rejected the president's proposal to include a payroll tax cut in the next Covid-19 response package, yet the president remains fixated on the foolhardy idea."
"A payroll tax cut does not help unemployed Americans--the group of people most in need right now--and it would drain money from Social Security and Medicare," said Neal and Larson. "It is difficult to fathom a worse moment to weaken these lifelines than during a pandemic and crushing economic recession."
"While Republicans have long sought to gut these earned benefits," the lawmakers added, "doubling down on those efforts while the Covid crisis rages on would be particularly heartless."