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social security administration
Emails Show Trump Official Targeted Maine Social Security Services as Political Revenge
"Trump is clearly comfortable weaponizing Social Security for political purposes, and we fear that this is only the beginning," said one critic.
Apr 02, 2025
The top Democrat on the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Wednesday led calls for the resignation of acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Leland Dudek following the revelation of internal emails confirming that the SSA canceled contracts with the state of Maine as political payback after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills publicly defied President Donald Trump in support of transgender student athletes.
The emails—which were obtained by House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.)—show that Dudek ordered the cancellation of enumeration at birth and electronic death registration contracts with Maine, even though SSAd subordinates warned that such action "would result in improper payments and potential for identity theft."
"These emails confirm that the Trump administration is intentionally creating waste and the opportunity for fraud."
Dudek—who is leading the SSA while the Senate considers Trump's nomination of financial services executive Frank Bisignano—replied to the staffer: "Please cancel the contracts. While our improper payments will go up, and fraudsters may compromise identities, no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child."
He was referring to Mills, who stood up to Trump in February after the president threatened to suspend federal funding for Maine unless the state banned transgender girls and women from participating on female scholastic sports teams.
The termination of the enumeration at birth contract briefly forced Maine parents to register their newborns for a Social Security number at a Social Security office, rather than checking a box on a form at the hospital as is customary, before the SSA reversed its decision.
Connolly sent Dudek a letter demanding that he "resign immediately" and submit to a transcribed interview with House Oversight Committee Democrats. Connolly wrote that Dudek "ordered these contracts terminated" as "direct retaliation" for Mills' defiance, "even though you knew that doing so would increase improper payments and create opportunities for fraudsters."
Government accountability advocates also condemned Dudek's actions.
"These emails confirm that the Trump administration is intentionally creating waste and the opportunity for fraud—in this case, to punish Maine Gov. Janet Mills for not bowing down to Donald Trump," Social Security Works president Nancy Altman told Common Dreams.
"The people actually punished by these actions were exhausted new parents in Maine, forced to drag their newborns to overcrowded Social Security offices in the middle of a measles outbreak," she continued. "Thankfully, the Trump administration had to quickly reverse course after massive public outrage. But Trump is clearly comfortable weaponizing Social Security for political purposes, and we fear that this is only the beginning."
"Once again, we see Team Trump resorting to revenge to set domestic policy."
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told Common Dreams that "it does not surprise us at all that this administration would weaponize Social Security against anyone who disagrees with or challenges President Trump."
"It's one of the concerns that we have with Elon Musk and [the Department of Government Efficiency] having access to everyone's personal data without any defensible explanation for why they need it," he continued. "We and the American people have legitimate worries, not only that this information will be vulnerable to hackers, but also that it could intentionally be misused as a weapon against anyone who publicly disagrees with Trump."
"The fact that the acting commissioner himself publicly admitted that he didn't really understand the Maine contract, but canceled it anyway, proves that this administration is making reckless changes that affect real people for no legitimate reason," Richtman added. "Once again, we see Team Trump resorting to revenge to set domestic policy."
The revelation of Dudek's emails comes amid SSA turmoil caused by the termination of thousands of agency personnel in what Trump, Musk, and other Republicans claim is an effort to reduce waste and fraud. Musk—who recently referred to Social Security as the the "biggest Ponzi scheme of all time"—has proposed the elimination of up to 50% of SSA's workforce and has said that up to $700 billion could be cut from programs including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
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Sanders Says 67,000 Could Die Awaiting Benefits Under Musk Cuts to Social Security Administration
"Instead of focusing on delivering benefits to seniors and people with disabilities, President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk are systematically dismantling SSA."
Apr 01, 2025
As the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday prepared to advance Frank Bisignano, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for Social Security Administration commissioner, a report from the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders warned that the number of people who will die waiting for benefits could more than double under a plan by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to slash SSA staffing by up to 50%.
"Social Security is the most successful government program in our nation's history. For more than 86 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American on time and without delay," states the report from Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member on the Senate Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy.
"Social Security is the most successful government program in our nation's history."
Noting that "Social Security lifts roughly 27 million Americans out of poverty each and every year," the publication asserts that "at a time of massive wealth inequality, our job must be to expand and strengthen Social Security. Yet, instead of focusing on delivering benefits to seniors and people with disabilities, President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk are systematically dismantling SSA."
"Roughly 3,000 employees have already been terminated or accepted voluntary separations from SSA. [Trump and Musk] have made unsubstantiated claims that there is massive fraud in the program and are proposing reckless cuts to SSA's workforce upward of 7,000 workers," the report continues. "In March 2025, former Commissioner of Social Security Martin O'Malley stated that due to the efforts of Elon Musk and DOGE, Americans could 'see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits' in "the next 30 to 90 days."
According to Sanders' report, "average wait times for Social Security disability benefits will double, and—more startlingly—the number of people who will die waiting for benefits will double to roughly 67,000 Americans" under DOGE-proposed cuts to SSA's workforce.
Musk has zeroed in on both Social Security benefits and staffing under the guise of reducing "waste and fraud" in "entitlement spending" on social safety net programs. In addition to proposing the elimination of up to 50% of SSA's workforce, the world's richest person has said that up to $700 billion could be cut from programs including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
"If SSA cuts 50% of employees making disability determinations, this will result in a 412-day wait for an initial decision" on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims, the Sanders report states.
The publication cites the case of Sheryl, a disabled California woman:
Right now I'm waiting for approval from SSDI and getting feedback from my private long-term disability insurance company that they want to try to send me back to work, while I have 13 doctors overseeing my care. If I succeed in convincing these heartless vultures that I'm disabled enough to rest, I will continue to worry that my fixed income will go less and less toward being able to live. If I don't, I will be put in a position to ignore my health and go back to work long enough to kill myself and leave my kids with no one. Welcome to America! One thing that would relieve a lot of stress is getting an approval... so that I know what my income will be and not have to worry that I'll end up in an economic landslide into the abyss.
Musk recently referred to Social Security as "the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time," echoing Trump's claim that the vital lifeline is a "scam" and adding to a long list of lies about social safety net programs.
"President Trump and Elon Musk have suggested that 'millions and millions' of dead people receive Social Security checks. That is an outrageous lie designed to undermine Americans' faith in Social Security," Sanders said on Tuesday. "Here's the truth: 30,000 people die a year waiting for an understaffed Social Security to approve disability benefits. The Trump-Musk plan to cut Social Security's staff by up to 50% will make this tragic reality even worse, and Frank Bisignano is there to see it through. We cannot let that happen."
Critics say Trump's nomination of Bisignano, a financial services executive with a private sector reputation as an aggressive cost-cutter, belies the president's claim that he is "not touching" Social Security. Senate Democrats have urged Trump to rescind Bisignano's nomination, pointing to his alleged lies under oath regarding improper contact with SSA and DOGE officials and fears over the administration's suspected privatization agenda.
"Putting Bisignano as head of Social Security is hiring an arsonist to run the fire station, plain and simple," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said ahead of Tuesday's vote.
"I knew [Frank Bisignano] when he was a businessman in New York. Businesses would bring him on board if they wanted to cut, cut, cut. Putting Bisignano as head of Social Security is hiring an arsonist to run the fire station, plain and simple." - @schumer.senate.gov
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— Social Security Works (@socialsecurityworks.org) April 1, 2025 at 8:40 AM
The Sanders report says that "the bottom line is this: Social Security belongs to the people who worked hard all their lives to earn their benefit. This is a program based on a promise—if you pay in, then you earn the right to guaranteed benefits. We cannot allow this promise to be broken."
In order to keep that promise, the report recommends actions including:
- Immediately ceasing the cuts from DOGE at SSA and across the government;
- Passing the Social Security Expansion Act to enhance Social Security benefits by $2,400 annually, ensure the program's solvency for the next 75 years by applying a payroll tax on higher-income workers, and increase the benefit to help low-income workers stay out of poverty;
- Passing the Stop the Wait Act to eliminate the Medicare waiting period for SSDI beneficiaries;
- Passing the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act to update SSI's asset limits to allow people to save without risking their essential benefits;
- Raising the minimum wage to at least $17 an hour to ensure that full-time workers can afford a healthy, stable life and phasing out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities; and
- Ensuring that all Americans have access to a pension.
"Instead of slashing Social Security's staff, closing down Social Security field offices, we should be making it easier, not harder, for seniors and people with disabilities to receive the Social Security benefits that they have earned and deserve," Sanders said Tuesday.
In a bid to "fight back" against the Trump administration's attacks, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) on Tuesday launched a "Social Security War Room."
Warren's office said the initiative will "focus on coordinating messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encouraging grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educating Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans' agenda, and their continued cuts to service and benefits."
"Senate Democrats are united in saying: Trump and Elon, get your hands off our Social Security," Warren said in a statement ahead of a Tuesday press conference. "We're fighting back on behalf of every single senior, every single parent of a kid with a disability supported by Social Security, every single person currently paying into the program for later down the line, and every American who cares that seniors can retire with dignity."
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'Americans Are Rightfully Furious': Social Security Defenders Not Falling for Partial Trump Walk-Back
"This partial victory shows that when the American people fight for our Social Security, we can win," said one advocate. "We are only going to get louder!"
Mar 27, 2025
Defenders of the Social Security Administration this week welcomed the delay and rollback of some policy changes at the federal agency while also reiterating the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump and the billionaire leader of his Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk.
As part of what critics condemn as "DOGE-manufactured chaos," SSA intended to require anyone who couldn't verify their identity online through "my Social Security" to do so in-person, beginning next week, while planning to shutter offices across the country. The agency announced Wednesday that the start date has been pushed to April 14, and people applying for Medicare, Social Security Disability Insurance, or Supplemental Security Income are now exempt from the rule and can complete their claim over the telephone.
Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek claimed Wednesday that "we have listened to our customers, Congress, advocates, and others, and we are updating our policy to provide better customer service to the country's most vulnerable populations."
Meanwhile, opponents of Trump and Musk's attacks on the agency—widely seen as a push toward privatization—framed the development as a "good first step" but "not enough," as AARP chief advocacy and engagement officer Nancy LeaMond said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.
"Our members nationwide have told us this change would require hundreds of miles and hours of travel merely to fill out paperwork," LeaMond said. "SSA should be prioritizing customer service effectiveness and efficiency, and as older Americans tell us, the announcement requiring visits caused confusion and distress."
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said on the Musk-owned social media platform X: "Delaying a bad plan—which effectively denies people their Social Security—is insufficient. Elon Musk's DOGE must take their hands off Social Security."
Warren also acknowledged the positive impact of people calling out the assault on the SSA, adding: "Keep the pressure on Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump to reverse these cuts. YOUR voice makes a difference."
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, similarly said that "while it is good that a bad policy is being postponed—and that some of the least mobile, most vulnerable groups are now exempted—it is still bad policy. There was no reason to end the validation of identity by phone, and limiting it in any way creates an unnecessary hurdle for seniors and families claiming their earned benefits."
Richtman also took aim at those in charge, declaring that "the circus at the Social Security Administration continues under the 'leadership' of acting Commissioner Leland Dudek," who is at the helm of the agency while the Senate considers Trump's nominee, financial services executive Frank Bisignano.
"It very much appears that the decision-makers at SSA—under the influence of Elon Musk and DOGE—are making up policy as they go along, and then are surprised when there is understandable public blowback, forcing them to make ad hoc adjustments like this one," he added. "This is the opposite of the competent, responsible stewardship of Social Security that the public deserves. Dudek, Musk, and DOGE are creating nothing but distress and confusion for the millions of people who depend on these benefits to get by, while risking irreparable damage to the Social Security system."
The Trump administration's attempt to dismantle the SSA—including with cuts to personnel and phone services—is already having an effect, with the agency website crashing four times over 10 days in the past month, and callers waiting 4-5 hours on hold.
Trump & Musk are: -Lying about Social Security fraud -Making destructive cuts to SSA staffing and phone-based services -Threatening the security of people's personal information by giving DOGE access to sensitive SSA data Social Security is in crisis entirely due to them.
— Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
"Americans are rightfully furious about the Trump administration making it harder for them to access their earned Social Security benefits," Nancy Altman, president of the group Social Security Works, said Thursday. "They are making their voices heard at town halls and rallies across the country, and calling their members of Congress. Now, they've forced the White House to partly walk back a needless burden."
Dudek tweaking the new verification rules, Altman said, "is just a starting point. The damage the Trump administration is doing to Social Security remains immense. The White House needs to roll back all of these senseless burdens, cancel plans to close dozens of field offices, and fully staff the Social Security Administration instead of pushing out thousands of employees."
"However, even this partial victory shows that when the American people fight for our Social Security, we can win," she added. "We are only going to get louder!"
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