FACT SHEET: Trump and Musk’s Plot to Make It Harder for Americans to Get Their Social Security Benefits
Current SSA employee retiring because of overwhelming demoralization and stress SSA staff are experiencing from Trump and Elon’s attacks on SSA: “I was not expecting to leave now, but I’m exhausted and demoralized, like many other employees around the region… I feel immense guilt for leaving my coworkers behind—like I’m in the last lifeboat of a sinking ship.”
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Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a virtual press conference with current and former Social Security Administration employees and people in Washington state who rely on Social Security benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) calling out Trump, Elon Musk, and Congressional Republicans for their plans to dismantle the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the real threats it poses to Americans’ hard-earned Social Security benefits.
SSA has plans to lay off thousands of employees—a significant proportion of its workforce at a time when SSA is already at a 50-year staffing lows—shutter local offices across the country, and cut phone services. In just the last week, Trump’s SSA has begun requiring Americans who file for benefits by phone to verify their identity using an online system or provide documentation in person at a field office—creating serious hardships for millions of elderly and disabled Americans who lack computers and have limited mobility to access in-person help. Trump and Musk’s actions to gut SSA will make it harder for Americans who have spent their lives paying into Social Security to get the benefits they have earned—and to get the help accessing those benefits they need. The Republican Continuing Resolution, written without any Democratic input, effectively endorses many of these plans by forcing staffing reductions due to inadequate funding.
“Cutting Social Security staff and closing offices isn’t going to reduce the deficit or make the government more efficient. Instead, making it harder for millions of Americans to apply for the benefits they have earned, and delaying processing is simply another way of cutting Social Security benefits. That appears to be the goal here, all to make more room for tax cuts for billionaires,” said Senator Murray. “Social Security is a promise. But more than that—it’s a lifeline that keeps millions of people afloat, sometimes with heads just above the water. That was my parents once upon a time. It is countless other families today. And Trump and Musk are trying to cut that lifeline. I am not going to let them get away with sabotaging Social Security in the shadows, and neither are the American people.”
The Trump administration’s plans to gut SSA come as Elon Musk calls Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested people wouldn’t mind if the government simply skipped sending one of their Social Security checks, and if they complained otherwise they were “fraudsters.”
“Every single retirement claim that we do, every disability claim, every Social Security number replacement card, those are all real people—and we know that. We work directly with the public, who are often in very difficult times in their lives when they need us. We need to be able to help them quickly,” said Laura Novakoski, who has worked at the Social Security Administration for more than 30 years, including at the Portland Metro field office for the last 12 years—where she served constituents from Southwest Washington and Oregon. Laura is retiring from SSA in large part because of the overwhelming demoralization and stress SSA staff are experiencing as a direct result of Trump and Elon’s reckless actions. Laura also serves as Secretary of AFGE Local 3937, which represents SSA employees throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. “Appointing Acting Commissioner Dudek and nominating Bisignano for Commissioner continues a trend of this administration appointing agency heads who don’t believe in the mission of their own agency, and will actively work to dismantle it.”
“I was not expecting to leave now, but I’m exhausted and demoralized, like many other employees around the region. The constant stress has a real impact on our physical and mental health,” Laura continued. “I feel immense guilt for leaving my coworkers behind—like I’m in the last lifeboat of a sinking ship. We are serious, hardworking people. We are taxpayers. The people who rely on Social Security are, too. We expect the representatives we elected to take care of the program and strengthen it. I don’t think we should let Social Security be toyed with by those who have no stake in it and no concern for the ramifications to real people. I don’t think we should let it be taken apart and taken over by private interests and billionaires.”
“The Social Security Administration is under a withering attack. Sensitive information about past and present workers and their families has been compromised. Thousands of workers have been lost from an Agency already at a 50-year staffing low. Disability benefit applicants wait years for final decisions. 30,000 died last year while waiting. All of this crushes employee morale and public confidence, and is a prelude to privatization,” said Steve Kofahl, a retired SSA employee and President Emeritus of AFGE Local 3937, which represents SSA employees throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska.
“I have been on Social Security since the age of 18 and on Social Security Disability Income since I was 22. My schizophrenia symptoms started when I was 12. I was officially diagnosed at 19 and placed in a group home run by Transitional Resources. At 23, with the help of Transitional Resources, I moved into an apartment in the neighborhood where I grew up, close to my family and friends. Social Security subsidizes a portion of my rent, which has allowed me to live on my own for more than 10 years,” said Joey Wilson, a Washington state resident who relies on SSDI benefits and has previously shared his story with the Seattle Times. “Social Security is in the crosshairs of budget cuts, cuts that would completely throw millions of Americans living with disabilities into chaos. These are people who need responsive services for emergencies, people who count on regular appointments, people whose consistency of care cannot be jeopardized. It already takes hours to get hold of Social Security on an average day of the week over the phone. Think about the impact and damage the proposed cuts will do to individuals with disabilities. Please help support those who cannot advocate for themselves.”
“Last week in class we talked about changes coming to Social Security access. I’ve encouraged them to create accounts on SSA.gov to avoid in-person visits — a hardship for those who don’t drive. As we age, it’s more likely that we need to move to a smaller home, or an assistive environment. We may want to change banks or designate someone to manage our account should we become unable. All of this could be an easy phone call to direct SSA in the changes needed,” said Sara Lambert, a senior in Carnation, WA who receives Social Security benefits and volunteers her time at a local Sno-Valley Senior Center helping other seniors sign up for the Social Security benefits they have earned. “I continue to hear news reports of unelected, unvetted, and unknown people invading Social Security looking for supposed fraud, but I’ve yet to see documented proof of any fraud. Also, I’d like to know how my personal information will be safeguarded, and that my guaranteed benefits will continue. A missed Social Security check will create hardship for honest, hardworking taxpayers who are supposed to be in their “golden years.” We’re experiencing frustration and fear in Carnation, as I expect is the case around the country. Maybe the billionaires trying to run the country haven’t experienced living paycheck to paycheck recently. Can we at least ask that they learn a little Civics 101?”
Senator Murray has an extensive record of protecting Social Security benefits and fighting to secure essential funding for the SSA—and she has been tirelessly raising the alarm about the threat Elon Musk’s DOGE poses to Americans’ hard-earned benefits. Under Senator Murray’s leadership as Chair last Congress, the Senate Appropriations Committee secured $14.2 billion for SSA in the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill—a $100 million increase over Fiscal Year 2023 funding levels—and advanced a draft Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Bill that would provide another $509 million increase for SSA. Millions of Americans rely on Social Security and have earned benefits over lifetimes of work. Half of seniors rely on Social Security for most of their income and a quarter of seniors rely on Social Security for at least 90% of their income.
Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered on today’s press call are below and video is HERE:
“We are here today to sound the alarm. Because Social Security is a promise—and Trump and Musk are doing everything they possibly they can do to break that promise.
“Trump can huff and puff and promise he won’t touch Social Security until he’s blue in the face.
“But here are the facts: they are firing workers and encouraging them to leave en masse. They are shuttering offices across the country. They are throwing up barriers for seniors and people with disabilities. They are jamming up the phone lines and wait times—and they are doing it all without a care in the world.
“Seriously—they may as well be telling people who need Social Security, ‘good luck you’re on your own.’
“After all, Trump’s own Commerce Secretary basically said he doesn’t think anyone will mind if their benefits get cut off for a month or two—and if you did complain, you’re probably a fraudster. Well, does he know any real people? I don’t think so.
“And Elon hasn’t shown the slightest concern that while he is leading a witch hunt for dead people on Social Security, SSA has incorrectly declared living people dead—including here in Washington state—and wrongly stole thousands of dollars in benefits out of people’s bank accounts.
“Not to mention, Trump administration officials are accidentally sending war plans to reporters over text message—and now we’re supposed to trust a 20-year old DOGE employee with every piece of data SSA has on everyone? I don’ think so!
“Career civil servants and leadership with decades of experience at SSA have resigned because of what Elon Musk and DOGE are trying to do.
“Meanwhile, Trump’s acting head of the Social Security Administration… First, tried to stop parents in Maine from being able to apply for a Social Security number for their newborns at the hospital, after Trump got into a fight with the governor. Then, threw an entirely different tantrum and threatened to shut down the entire agency because a Judge said he couldn’t hand over everyone’s private financial data to Elon Musk’s DOGE minions.
“And now, on Trump’s orders, is requiring people go to Social Security offices in person to verify their identity—at the same time they are firing workers and shuttering offices!
“Now, it’s not hard to imagine why some of the richest people in the world don’t get it. Elon Musk is never going to go hungry because he missed a Social Security check.
“But it’s also not hard to see how what they are doing is really dangerous. If Social Security wrongly declares you dead in Elon’s conspiracy purge—that is a problem. If you can’t verify your identity because there is no office near you, and no appointment available for months—that is a problem. If your private financial data is compromised because Elon’s DOGE minions are mucking around with no oversight—that is a problem.
“And if Social Security breaks down and misses payments because billionaires like Trump and Elon don’t care, or because the Acting Commissioner doesn’t have the first clue what he’s doing, or because they are all actively sabotaging the entire program—that is a MAJOR problem, for tens of millions of Americans.
“Social Security administrative expenses represent less than 1 percent of benefits paid. It’s about 0.2 percent of total government spending. Cutting Social Security staff and closing offices is not going to reduce the deficit or make the government more efficient.
“Instead, it is making it harder for millions of Americans to apply for the benefits they have earned, and delayed processing. And it’s simply another way of cutting Social Security benefits.
“That appears to be the goal here, all why? To make more room for tax cuts for billionaires.
“And I think there’s a pretty basic reason I understand that while all these clueless, careless, and completely out of touch billionaires don’t seem to know or care.
“It’s because I actually hear from people every day who rely on Social Security. And I actually remember how badly my parents needed Social Security. I know what a weight was lifted when they were finally eligible for their benefits, and I know how crushing it will be for families if Trump and Musk succeed in grinding this program into the ground.
“Because here is the thing: Social Security is a promise, but more than that—it’s a lifeline that keeps millions of people afloat, sometimes with their heads just above the water.
“That was my parents once upon a time. It is countless other families today. And Trump and Musk are trying to cut that lifeline.
“Well I am not going to let them get away with sabotaging social security in the shadows, and neither are the American people.
“I am going to keep this in the spotlight, and keep pushing back with everything I’ve got to protect Social Security, and keep our promise to Americans.”
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