Donald Trump has spent years presenting himself to the public as a Social Security proponent. In fact, throughout his 2016 candidacy, the Republican tried to differentiate himself from his GOP rivals by emphasizing that he, unlike many in his party, would protect the popular social insurance program.
Those who believed Trump have new reasons to feel regret. The Associated Press reported:
Dozens of Social Security Administration offices across the country are slated to close this year due to actions taken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as part of the Trump administration’s unprecedented effort to shrink the size of government. DOGE has published a list of nearly 800 federal real estate leases that it is seeking to cancel. The Associated Press has obtained an internal planning document from the General Services Administration, which manages federal real estate, which shows when nearly two-thirds of those cancellations are expected to go into effect.
The same AP report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, included a state-by-state breakdown of the 26 Social Security Administration offices that are now expected to close in the coming months.
If we were to stop here, it would already be an unfortunate story for the seniors and disabled Americans who rely on Social Security benefits and might want to visit one of the offices that will soon be closed.
But what make this story even more serious is the other bookend, as highlighted by a Washington Post report:
The Social Security Administration on Tuesday announced new measures that will require millions of Americans who file for benefits by phone to verify their identity using an online system or provide documentation in person at a field office. The change is expected to disrupt agency operations just as the Trump administration, driven by billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, is racing to downsize Social Security — cutting 7,000 jobs, consolidating programs, and closing dozens of regional and local offices.
Those sympathetic to Musk and his White House colleagues are likely to argue that scrapping phone-based options isn’t especially serious, since Social Security beneficiaries can simply go online.
But it’s not that simple. As the Post’s report added, “Because millions of elderly and disabled customers the agency serves lack computers to authenticate their identity — and have limited mobility to access in-person help — the change will create hardships, a top agency official acknowledged last week in an internal memorandum.” The result is the worst of both worlds: More senior citizens and disabled Americans will be forced to make in-person appearances at Social Security offices, just as the Trump administration closes Social Security offices and fires thousands of Social Security Administration employees. How many beneficiaries are expected to be affected by this change? According to an internal memorandum prepared by the agency’s acting deputy commissioner, up to 4.4 million people per year will be directed to field offices, many of which are now closing, while the remaining offices will have smaller workforces. If the Trump administration were trying to engineer a public backlash, it’s putting the pieces in place.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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