{"id":1052228,"date":"2025-03-25T18:26:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T22:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1052228"},"modified":"2025-03-25T18:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T22:26:10","slug":"trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick to Lead Social Security Administration Will Threaten Americans\u2019 Hard-Earned Benefits\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to the confirmation hearing of Trump\u2019s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, Frank Bisignano, <\/em>DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDonald Trump is not hiding his plans to gut the Social Security Administration. After shuttering field offices, cutting phone lines, and forcing seniors to wait hours on end to sign up for benefits or get help, Trump is bringing in another Wall Street fat cat to finish the job. Make no mistake: Trump and his MAGA cronies will put Americans\u2019 hard-earned benefits on the chopping block to line their own corrupt pockets and give tax handouts to billionaires.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW: Donald Trump\u2019s pick to lead the Social Security Administration, Frank Bisignano, is gearing up to rip away Americans\u2019 hard-earned benefits.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a>: \u201cWhy do you think the Social Security Administration is now closing down offices and laying off 7,000 employees? \u2026 Do you think it makes sense to lay off half the staff?\u201d \u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Bisignano: *Dodges*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Sanders: \u201cWhen you have a system that is not working out, do you think it\u2019s a great idea to lay off half the employees?\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bisignano: \u201cProbably no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ron Wyden<\/a>: <\/strong>\u201cWill you lock DOGE out of Social Security databases?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bisignano: *Refuses to answer question*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Wyden: \u201cI would like that in writing that you will lock DOGE out of the Social Security databases.\u201d \u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bisignano: \u201cI don\u2019t know what \u2018lock DOGE out of the Social Security\u2019\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Wyden: \u201cStop them. It\u2019s got a pretty simple concept when you lock somebody out. You stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump and shadow president Elon Musk have moved to gut the Social Security Administration, threatening hard-earned benefits for millions of Americans amid a 50-year low on staffing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cLong waits, waves of calls, website crashes: Social Security is breaking down\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cSocial Security Administration leadership is under instruction to swiftly produce plans to cut its staff by half, <\/strong>according to two employees at the agency who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axios<\/a>: \u201cAn internal memo from the Social Security Administration proposes changes to its phone service that could derail the benefits application process for many Americans. \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe draft of the memo viewed by Axios says the proposed limitations will be \u2018significant\u2019 for those living in rural areas in particular.\u201d \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NextGov<\/a>: \u201cMost of the Social Security Administration\u2019s regional commissioners have decided to retire at the end of this week, following mysterious meetings with agency leaders about plans to slash its workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt least five of the eight regional commissioners whose offices oversee and support the agency\u2019s frontline offices across the country are leaving, <\/strong>according to a source familiar with the agency and an SSA employee not authorized to speak on the record. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir departures come amid rumors of impending staff cuts at SSA, where the workforce is already at a 50-year low and has toiled amid a customer service crisis born of lack of funding.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prospect<\/a>: \u201cThe decision could target one of the government\u2019s most prominent public-facing initiatives: SSA field offices, where seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors whose parents have died can sign up for benefits and get information.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has a record of trying to gut Social Security every year during his first term in office and is pledging cuts in a second term. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cTrump proposals could drain Social Security in 6 years, budget group says\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cHis avowed stance, however, is at odds with Trump\u2019s own record as president: Each of his White House budget proposals included cuts to Social Security and Medicare programs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vox<\/a>: \u201cTrump said he wouldn\u2019t cut Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. His 2020 budget cuts all 3.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Review<\/a>: \u201cSpeaking with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump was asked whether he would cut entitlements at some point. \u2018Will entitlements ever be on your plate?\u2019 asked interviewer Joe Kernen. \u2018At some point they will be,\u2019 Trump responded. \u2018At the right time, we will take a look at that. You know, that\u2019s the easiest of all things [to cut].\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mediaite<\/a>: \u201cDuring a Fox News town hall, President Donald Trump promised to cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security if he were to win a second term<\/strong>. \u2026 \u2018But if you don\u2019t cut something in entitlements, you will never really deal with the debt,\u2019 town hall co-moderator Martha MacCallum interjected, alluding to social safety programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. \u2018Oh, we\u2019ll be cutting,\u2019 Trump rushed to confirm<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to the confirmation hearing of Trump\u2019s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, Frank Bisignano, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: \u201cDonald Trump is not hiding his plans to gut the Social Security Administration. After shuttering field offices, cutting phone lines, and forcing seniors to wait hours on end to sign […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":293,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1052228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s Wall Street Pick to Lead Social Security Administration Will Threaten Americans\u2019 Hard-Earned Benefits\u00a0 - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-25T22:26:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-25T22:26:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shelby Reese\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shelby Reese\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/\",\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick to Lead Social Security Administration Will Threaten Americans\u2019 Hard-Earned Benefits\u00a0 - Democrats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-25T22:26:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-25T22:26:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a79beb4f30710331f5f8ad0cb779d64\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\",\"width\":1101,\"height\":483},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick to Lead Social Security Administration Will Threaten Americans\u2019 Hard-Earned Benefits\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\",\"name\":\"Democrats\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a79beb4f30710331f5f8ad0cb779d64\",\"name\":\"Shelby Reese\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcc80f34f9bfa5c0480c4230734bb5bd8755daddce48f94e96eaf9e79accfe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcc80f34f9bfa5c0480c4230734bb5bd8755daddce48f94e96eaf9e79accfe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shelby Reese\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/reeses\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick to Lead Social Security Administration Will Threaten Americans\u2019 Hard-Earned Benefits\u00a0 - Democrats","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_site_name":"Democrats","article_published_time":"2025-03-25T22:26:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-25T22:26:10+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Shelby Reese","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shelby Reese","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/","name":"Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick to Lead Social Security Administration Will Threaten Americans\u2019 Hard-Earned Benefits\u00a0 - Democrats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024","datePublished":"2025-03-25T22:26:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-25T22:26:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a79beb4f30710331f5f8ad0cb779d64"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","width":1101,"height":483},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-wall-street-pick-to-lead-social-security-administration-will-threaten-americans-hard-earned-benefits\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick to Lead Social Security Administration Will Threaten Americans\u2019 Hard-Earned Benefits\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/","name":"Democrats","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6a79beb4f30710331f5f8ad0cb779d64","name":"Shelby Reese","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcc80f34f9bfa5c0480c4230734bb5bd8755daddce48f94e96eaf9e79accfe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcc80f34f9bfa5c0480c4230734bb5bd8755daddce48f94e96eaf9e79accfe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shelby Reese"},"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/reeses\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/293"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1052228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1052231,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052228\/revisions\/1052231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1052228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1052228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1052228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}