For Social Security it has been a miserable year. <\/p>\n
After President Donald Trump unleashed Elon Musk and DOGE on the Social Security Administration, the agency lost more staff in a shorter period of time than ever before in its 90-year history. Fortunately, public outcry and pushback from congressional Democrats saved Social Security from a 50% cut to staffing and the closure of scores of field offices as Trump and his administration had announced back in March. So, somehow, those dedicated workers remaining at the Social Security Administration have still managed to keep the agency running \u2014 without missing a single monthly benefit payment. <\/p>\n
There are not many public or private insurers in the world who can claim to never have missed a monthly benefit payment in 90 years. <\/p>\n
This is good news for 71 million Americans \u2014 many of whom depend on their earned benefit every month as a lifeline. But we are not out of the woods yet. The agency has been gutted. Enormous damage has been done to customer service and to the agency\u2019s ability to process claims.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Just as many are demanding that Trump\u2019s deep cuts to healthcare be restored, so too must Trump\u2019s deep cuts to Social Security be restored, as the two are inextricably linked. Sixty-four million Medicare recipients will see a reduction in their Social Security benefits in 2026 due to Trump\u2019s Medicare price hikes that will cut into their Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), making life more expensive for seniors. This is the greatest erosion of the Social Security COLA in nearly a decade, and the first time that Medicare premiums exceeded $200 per month. <\/p>\n
With the Social Security Administration\u2019s staffing now reduced to a 60-year low and baby boomers swelling the number of active beneficiaries to an all-time high, the agency is struggling badly, and the American people are paying the price. Wait times to get to a person in a field office or to talk to a person on the 1-800 line have become longer and longer. <\/p>\n
As the Trump administration claims that things have never been better, millions of Americans are having a very different experience. In fact, more people today now die waiting in line for their initial disability determination than at any time since President Dwight Eisenhower signed the disability portion of the act into law in 1956. Even just recently, Trump and DOGE risked 300 million Americans\u2019 personal data from the Social Security Administration. They have robbed Americans of customer service and peace of mind.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n