It has been a miserable year for Social Security.
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 resistance from Democrats in Congress saved Social Security from a 50% workforce cut and the closure of dozens of field offices, as Trump and his administration announced in March. So somehow, the dedicated workers left behind at the Social Security Administration have still managed to keep the agency running – without missing a single monthly benefit.
There are not many public or private insurers in the world who can claim that they have never missed a monthly payment in 90 years.
This is good news for 71 million Americans – many of whom rely on their earned benefits every month. But we’re not out of the woods yet. The agency has been gutted. Massive damage has been done to customer service and the agency’s ability to process claims.
In no time, Trump was blamed for blocking food aid to low-income families
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Just as many are demanding that Trump’s deep cuts to health care be restored, Trump’s deep cuts to Social Security must also 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’s Medicare price increases that will cut into their cost of living adjustment (COLA), making life more expensive for seniors. This is the largest erosion of Social Security COLA in nearly a decade, and the first time Medicare premiums have exceeded $200 per month.
With Social Security Administration staffing levels down to a 60-year low and baby boomers pushing the number of active beneficiaries to a record high, the agency is struggling, and the American people are paying the price. Wait times to reach someone at a field office or to talk to someone on the 1-800 line have been getting longer.
While the Trump administration claims that things have never been better, millions of Americans are having a very different experience. In fact, more people are dying today while waiting for their first disability determination than at any time since President Dwight Eisenhower signed the disability portion of the law into law in 1956. Even recently, Trump and DOGE risked the personal information of 300 million Americans from the Social Security Administration. They have robbed Americans of customer service and peace of mind.
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Conditions have gotten so bad – Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, has called for the resignation of Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. It turns out to be a striking illustration of the great concern that experts have about the damage done to the organization.
None of this had to happen. It was made to happen. As a candidate, Trump vowed throughout the campaign to protect Social Security. Instead, he trashed the program’s customer service, took a chainsaw to its functions, and slandered its reputation with false claims of waste, fraud, and abuse.
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At a time of great political division, Social Security remains the most strongly supported program in America. In reality, 80% of Americans worry about whether Social Security will be available when they retire and want it to be strengthened and improved – not chopped up, privatized or liquidated.
This is a democratic moment. Social Security should be a bipartisan issue. All lawmakers—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents—must come together to deliver on the promise of a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work.
