{"id":1052336,"date":"2025-04-01T14:42:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T18:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1052336"},"modified":"2025-04-01T14:42:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T18:42:25","slug":"republicans-advance-trumps-wall-street-pick-to-gut-americans-social-security-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/republicans-advance-trumps-wall-street-pick-to-gut-americans-social-security-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans Advance Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick To Gut Americans\u2019 Social Security Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to Senate Republicans advancing Frank Bisignano\u2019s nomination to lead the Social Security Administration, <\/em>DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDonald Trump and shadow President Elon Musk are taking Social Security apart brick by brick \u2014 shuttering field offices, cutting phone lines, and forcing seniors to wait hours, if not days, for assistance. Now, they\u2019ve brought in Wall Street lackey and self-proclaimed DOGE ally Frank Bisignano to help them put critical benefits for 73 million<\/a> people on the chopping block while they push through another round of tax handouts for billionaires. Make no mistake: Americans\u2019 hard-earned benefits are not safe in the hands of Trump, Musk, and Bisignano.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW: Senate Republicans voted to advance Frank Bisignano \u2014 Trump\u2019s Wall Street backer and self-proclaimed DOGE ally \u2014 to lead the Social Security Administration after he refused to protect Americans\u2019 hard-earned benefits during his disastrous confirmation hearing. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[HOLD FOR VOTE] <\/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<\/strong> \u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Bisignano: *Dodges*<\/strong><\/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>: \u201cWill you lock DOGE out of Social Security databases?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bisignano: *Refuses to answer<\/strong> 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

Associated Press<\/a>: \u201cFrank Bisignano, a self-professed \u2018DOGE person,\u2019<\/strong> was called to account for recent upheaval at the Social Security Administration, which provides benefits to roughly 72.5 million people, including retirees and children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REMINDER: Trump and shadow President Elon Musk are breaking down Social Security brick by brick and risking hard-earned benefits for <\/strong>73 million<\/strong><\/a> Americans. <\/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

\u201cThe turmoil is leaving many retirees, disabled claimants and legal immigrants who need Social Security cards with less access or shut out of the system altogether<\/strong>, according to those familiar with the problems. \u2026<\/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

Business Insider<\/a>: \u201cSocial Security is telling its staff that customer service is about to get a lot worse\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLines at your local Social Security office are about to get a lot longer <\/strong>\u2014 if it survives a wave of closures brought on by funding cuts under the Trump administration. \u2026<\/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 Senate Republicans advancing Frank Bisignano\u2019s nomination to lead the Social Security Administration, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: \u201cDonald Trump and shadow President Elon Musk are taking Social Security apart brick by brick \u2014 shuttering field offices, cutting phone lines, and forcing seniors to wait hours, if not days, for […]<\/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-1052336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRepublicans Advance Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick To Gut Americans\u2019 Social Security Benefits - 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\/republicans-advance-trumps-wall-street-pick-to-gut-americans-social-security-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=\"2025-04-01T18:42:25+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\/republicans-advance-trumps-wall-street-pick-to-gut-americans-social-security-benefits\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/republicans-advance-trumps-wall-street-pick-to-gut-americans-social-security-benefits\/\",\"name\":\"Republicans Advance Trump\u2019s Wall Street Pick To Gut Americans\u2019 Social Security Benefits - 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