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Join NowICYMI: How DOGE’s Social Security Cuts Are Already Hurting Communities
WaPo: Employees describe hourslong wait times, delays in reviewing disability claims, and more
WASHINGTON – In a damning exposé, The Washington Post today revealed that Elon Musk’s handpicked commissioner now running the Social Security Administration (SSA) has admitted he and his team have little grasp of the agency as they race to fire workers, slash funding, close offices, and pour over the confidential data of tens of millions of Americans.
The piece outlines the devastating impacts already taking place at SSA offices, with employees describing hourslong wait times, disability hearings being cancelled, and backed-up phone lines preventing staff from processing retirement claims.
“If Americans can’t trust a single word coming out of Musk and Trump’s mouths, how can we possibly trust them with well-earned Social Security and disability benefits? Short answer: We can’t,” said MoveOn Civic Action spokesperson Britt Jacovich.
She continued, “It’s been less than two months, and thousands of seniors are already at risk of facing delays or losing their benefits because Trump and Elon are selling us out for billionaires. Cutting staff that support managing our Social Security program is indeed a cut to Social Security—period. President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk aren’t fooling anyone, and they should keep their hands off of our Social Security benefits.”
Read the full story: DOGE is driving Social Security cuts and will make mistakes, acting head says privately
According to a meeting participant’s detailed notes obtained by the Post, “In a meeting Tuesday with his senior staff and about 50 legal-aid attorneys and other advocates for the disabled and elderly, acting SSA commissioner Leland Dudek referred to the tech billionaire’s cost-cutting team as ‘outsiders who are unfamiliar with nuances of SSA programs.’
‘DOGE people are learning and they will make mistakes, but we have to let them see what is going on at SSA,’ Dudek told the group, according to the notes. ‘I am relying on longtime career people to inform my work, but I am receiving decisions that are made without my input. I have to effectuate those decisions.’
“Dudek has announced plans to slash 7,000 jobs, a cut of more than 12 percent. He has moved to close regional hubs and field offices that serve the public, eliminated entire programs and consolidated departments.
“His remarks to skeptical advocates came on Dudek’s 12th day in a role that the White House rewarded him with after he secretly shared information with DOGE, which stands for the Department of Government Efficiency. His short tenure — while President Donald Trump’s nominee to permanently run the agency waits in the wings — has been consumed by a whirlwind downsizing of the staff in charge of the safety-net program used by 73 million retired and disabled Americans.
“Yet it’s still not clear what Trump and Musk have in mind as an endgame for Social Security, which has long been a political third rail in Washington.
“The president has made multiple promises that ‘we’re not touching Social Security,’ even as DOGE races to shrink the government.
“After Musk’s claim that vast numbers of centenarians were fraudulently receiving retirement benefits was debunked, Trump doubled down Tuesday night in his address to a joint session of Congress. ‘We’re also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors,’Trump falsely stated.
“In interviews, eight employees described chaos and the dissolution of a system they have been proud to serve, fueled by DOGE-led cuts to staff, spending and operating systems.
“Wait times for basic phone service have grown, in some cases to hours, according to some employees, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal details. Delays in reviews of disability claims and hearings before administrative law judges are already starting.
Employees at a field office in Indiana have been forced to pick up calls for other offices, one employee said, and are fielding phone inquiries for an area covering two-thirds of the state. The phone ‘never stops ringing now,’ the employee said. Phone backups have prevented the staff from processing retirement claims.
“Due to a DOGE-driven spending freeze on federal credit cards, some offices can’t pay phone bills, the employee said, while one office was forced last week to cancel three disability hearings because the staff could not use charge cards to pay for interpreters who speak foreign languages or American Sign Language. One claimant has a terminal illness, and another is in danger of losing their house, the employee said. No new hearings have been scheduled.”
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