President Donald Trump‘s administration is “not finished” with changes to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the former acting commissioner has said.
“In the spirit of the president’s call for results over rhetoric, we have reshaped SSA not to serve a party or a press cycle, but to serve the people,” Leland Dudek wrote in an opinion piece for the The New York Post.
“We are not finished. But if these first 100 days are any indication, the future of Social Security is not just protected, but is being renewed.”
Dudek was replaced as head of the SSA by Frank Bisignano this week.
Why It Matters
The SSA pays out benefits to around 70 million Americans every month. The agency has undergone a number of changes in recent months at the request of Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
What To Know
In his article, Dudek addressed the backlash to job cuts and workforce reorganizations that were announced at the SSA earlier this year.
“We have shifted thousands of employees into direct public-service roles and ended outdated telework arrangements that undermined accountability and responsiveness,” he wrote, adding that the agency had treated its workers with “dignity and respect.”
He added: “We’ve given them options to do what works best for them, whether that means volunteering for a public-service role or choosing to separate from the agency on generous terms.”
The SSA confirmed earlier this year that it planned to slash its workforce by 7,000. Dudek announced in April that more than 3,000 staff members had already left the agency, with a further 2,000 being reassigned to offices requiring more staff.
Dudek also highlighted the expedited payment of benefits following the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act, which eliminated two provisions that curtailed benefits for certain public service workers.
He said $14.8 billion in retroactive benefits had been paid to 2.2 million Americans. Previously, affected beneficiaries were told it could take up to a year for backdated payments and new benefits to be paid.
“This is what good government looks like: focused, humble, and urgent,” Dudek wrote.
“Some complain we are moving too fast. I say the American people have waited long enough. In the spirit of the president’s call for results over rhetoric, we have reshaped SSA not to serve a party or a press cycle, but to serve the people.”
Backlash
Martin O’Malley, who served as the SSA’s commissioner under President Joe Biden, has repeatedly warned that staffing reductions could disrupt the payment of benefits. Most recently, he cautioned that personnel reductions could “cascade into a collapse of the entire system and an interruption for some time of benefits.”
In recent months, there have been reports of SSA website outages, extended delays for phone and in-person services, and instances of beneficiaries being wrongly declared deceased.
Democratic lawmakers, including former President Biden, have raised the alarm. In his first major address since leaving office in January, Biden stated last month that the current administration had “taken a hatchet” to the SSA.
Republicans have also expressed unease. In a letter addressed to Bisignano, a group of GOP representatives said they were concerned regarding SSA staffing cuts and the ending of office leases. The lawmakers said that while “efforts to make our bloated bureaucracy more efficient” were welcome, reforms should not disrupt services for those who rely on payments.
The SSA is also facing legal challenges. In April, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing DOGE from accessing sensitive personal data maintained by the federal agency. The ruling barred DOGE, along with its agents and employees, from accessing systems that store personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers, medical records, addresses, and bank and tax records.
What Happens Next
Bisignano will likely to chart a similar course to his predecessor.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Bisignano said that he will “protect” Social Security. “President Trump has been clear about Social Security,” he said. “We will make the Social Security Administration a premier organization.”
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