A union leader has said the Social Security is in a “death spiral” as the Trump administration continues to make cuts at the federal agency.
Newsweek has contacted the Social Security Administration (SSA) for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Since the Trump administration took office in January, the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has implemented significant budget cuts across federal agencies as President Donald Trump aims to reduce government spending.
The SSA, which pays benefits to approximately 70 million Americans, has not been spared. DOGE’s mandates include workforce reductions, the closure of internal departments, and changes to phone line services.
What To Know
In late February, SSA acting commissioner Leland Dudek announced the federal agency would slash its workforce from 57,000 down to 50,000—a 12.2 percent reduction. The SSA said the “massive reorganizations” would lead to “abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing.”
But the move has been criticized by Rich Couture, President of American Federation of Government Employees’ SSA committee, which represents more than 42,000 Social Security workers.
Couture expressed concern that the cutbacks are creating a “negative feedback loop,” in which the departure of employees increases the workload on those who remain, in turn lowering morale and prompting even more to leave “until the agency ends up in a death spiral with staffing, inducing office closures.”
In late 2024, prior to the Trump administration, a spokesperson for the SSA told Newsweek that the agency had “reached a 50-year low in staffing, even as the number of customers we serve reaches a new record high each day.”
He also told The Guardian: “It has never been explained with any degree of clarity how they came up with that figure. What’s being served by that by a loss of 7,000 jobs? How does any of that supposedly makes this operation more efficient? How does it improve service? How does it improve productivity? Our position is that losing 7,000 people doesn’t do any of those things.”
Couture said it is unlikely this will be the only round of workforce cuts for the SSA.
“I don’t think they’re going to stop at 7,000 people lost,” he said. “If they lose 10,000 or 12,000, they’re running up their high score. They’re able to brag about it.”
The worker cutback has been met with criticism elsewhere. Martin O’Malley, who was commissioner during the Biden administration and oversaw sweeping improvements to the SSA’s customer services, has been heavily critical of the widespread changes happening at the agency.
A group of Senate Democrats also recently launched a “war room” to “to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security.” Groups that advocate for the protection of Social Security and other benefit programs have also raised concerns.
What People Are Saying
The SSA, in a February 28 press release regarding the workforce reorganizations: “These steps prioritize customer service by streamlining redundant layers of management, reducing non-mission critical work, and potential reassignment of employees to customer service positions. Also supporting this priority is looking for efficiencies and other opportunities to reduce costs across all spending categories, including information technology and contractor spending. SSA is committed to ensure this plan has a positive effect on the delivery of Social Security services.”
Martin O’Malley, SSA commissioner under the Biden administration, said in March: “Everything they’re doing is driving this agency to system collapse. It will lead to interruptions in service, and that will ultimately cascade into more frequent system interruptions for the processing of claims, ultimately leading to system collapse and eventually the interruption of benefits.”
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a press release regarding the launch of the “war room”: “Senate Democrats are united in saying: Trump and Elon, get your hands off our Social Security. We’re fighting back on behalf of every single senior, every single parent of a kid with a disability supported by Social Security, every single person currently paying into the program for later down the line, and every American who cares that seniors can retire with dignity.”
What’s Next
Whether further cuts will be made at the SSA remains to be seen.
If you are an SSA employee and would like to speak confidentially to Newsweek regarding the agency, please email [email protected]
The post Social Security in ‘Death Spiral’ After DOGE Cuts appeared first on Newsweek.
