What's happening to Social Security under Trump?

Throughout his decade in politics, President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to protect Social Security benefits. But those promises may be at odds with his administration's cost-cutting moves.

New measures announced Tuesday by the Social Security Administration (SSA) will "disrupt agency operations" that connect people to retirement and disability benefits, said The Washington Post. Americans who apply for those benefits will be required to "verify their identity using an online system or provide documentation in person at a field office." That will "create hardships" for "millions of Americans" who have limited mobility or internet access. The new requirement is ostensibly intended to reduce fraud. "These changes are not intended to hurt our customers," said Leland Dudek, the agency's acting commissioner, "but to make sure benefits go to the right customer at the right time."

'Hamstringing' Social Security

The announcement comes after repeated claims of Social Security fraud by Elon Musk, the billionaire head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. But "no evidence exists" that those claims are true, said Lora Kelley at The Atlantic. Trump nonetheless repeated the claims during his speech to Congress in early March, and Musk has referred to Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme." Musk and Trump's statements "undermine those assurances" that the White House will protect the program, said Kelley.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"No reasonable person will disagree with targeting actual waste or fraud," Rex Huppke said at USA Today. But Musk's fraud claims are "outlandish." During a Fox News interview, Musk said the amount of fraud within Social Security could amount to a half-trillion dollars or more. Watchdog agencies, though, say the number is closer to $72 billion between 2017 and 2022, less than 1% of the agency's payments during that time. Musk "doesn't know what he's talking about," said Huppke.

All this comes as a "record number of Americans are hitting retirement each year," Molly Weston Williamson, a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, said at MSNBC. Under Trump, the SSA "recently announced its intent to eliminate 7,000 jobs," leaving the agency with "no capacity to spare" as it copes with the increased numbers of people it must serve. The Trump administration is "hamstringing" the agency, "putting the well-being of millions on the line."

Sounding the alarm bells

Current and former SSA executives are working to "sound alarm bells," said The New York Times. "Everything" the Trump administration has done so far is "breaking the agency's ability to serve the public," said Martin O'Malley, the former Social Security commissioner. The SSA said it is "committed to ensuring Americans get the help they need."

The agency's moves are "stressing out some Republicans" ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, said Politico. Social Security has long been called the "third rail" of American politics, leaving most politicians wary of messing with it. Musk may think it is a Ponzi scheme, said GOP consultant Christopher Nicholas, "but the people on it and the people about to be on it do not think that."