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Top Democrats are urging the Social Security Administration to scrap plans that they say could make it easier for agency employees to be fired by DOGE. It’s the latest push from the party’s “Social Security War Room.”
In a Friday letter exclusively obtained by BI, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, and Kristen Gillibrand called on new SSA Commissioner Frank Bisgnano to immediately stop any action that would reclassify staff members to a new category labeled Schedule F or Schedule Policy/Career.
The move would give the White House more control over the hiring, firing, and management of SSA employees by categorizing some as “policy-influencing” — a designation that means workers who were civil servants before, with the protection that affords, would become at-will, and are therefore able to be terminated more easily.
“Converting these SSA employees’ status is a deliberate maneuver to make it easier to get rid of critical SSA staff, endangering the program and the benefits earned by millions of Americans,” the senators wrote.
An April internal email sent by former acting commissioner Leland Dudek, who helmed the agency during its transition to Bisignano’s full-time stewardship, said that senior executives, some advisors, and staff of certain offices within the agency should be reclassified as policy-makers.
Dudek told BI in a statement last week that the Trump administration is getting rid of “unnecessary bureaucracy” within the agency that “will deliver on President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security by providing the high-quality service and stewardship that the American people expect and deserve.”
The SSA said the ongoing staff cuts are part of a”workforce optimization plan that focuses on reducing employees in non-mission-critical positions and bolstering staff in mission-critical roles.”
Turbulent times at the Social Security Administration
The agency operates America’s largest social safety net, ensuring that 73 million older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income households receive their monthly benefit checks. Since President Donald Trump returned to office, federal cost-cutting efforts have hit the agency hard, contributing to historically low staff numbers and a slew of anxious baby boomers. Organizations like the AARP have also sounded an alarm about the agency’s crumbling customer service.
In addition to older Americans worried about benefit disruptions, BI has heard from current and former SSA employees in recent months who are worried about losing their livelihoods and described the “chaos,” “stress,” “confusion,” and “fear” they feel working at the agency under DOGE. And, while White House policy changes will not impact the monthly checks beneficiaries receive, several of the employees BI spoke with warned that continued staff cuts may cause delays in processing paperwork and Social Security claims.
“We’re at the tip of the iceberg; this is just going to get worse and worse and worse,” Jill Hornick, a field office employee of 33 years and administrative director for AFGE Local 1395, previously told BI, adding, “I don’t think the Social Security that we know is going to be something we’ll see again.”
The senators said a potential reclassification to Schedule F would put employees at greater risk of losing their jobs. They asked Bisignano to halt planned reclassifications and to restore any employees who had already been made Schedule F to their original civil servant status.
“By indiscriminately making senior officers and rank-and-file employees at will, you are politicizing Social Security,” they wrote. “Americans receiving their earned benefits is not a political call — it is a right.”
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