Social Security advocates are up in arms over reports that the Trump administration plans to cut 50% of the Social Security Administration's workforce.
The acting commissioner of SSA, Leland Dudek, requested in a meeting on Tuesday that managers present him with a plan for a 50% reduction in staff, according to a report in The American Prospect.
The deadline for the plan to be submitted to Dudek is Wednesday afternoon, two sources who wished to remain anonymous told the publication.
“The Social Security Administration is already chronically understaffed. Now, the Trump Administration wants to demolish it," Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said Wednesday in a statement.
"Contrary to what Elon Musk and his acolytes may believe, AI chatbots are no substitute for in-person service from a human being," Altman said. "Americans apply for Social Security benefits at the most vulnerable times of their lives. Moreover, many people who seek information may have trouble articulating or even knowing what questions they need to ask."
Altman maintained that if Musk’s plan goes through, "it will deny many Americans access to their hard-earned Social Security benefits. Field offices around the country will close. Wait times for the 1-800 number will soar."
The Department of Government Efficiency "claims to be concerned about fraud, but the best way to detect fraud is through face-to-face contacts with humans who can detect suspicious responses and can read body language," Altman added.
SSA "has been underfunded and understaffed for many years now," the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare added in another statement.
"In fact, staffing already is at a 50 year-low at a time when 10,000 Baby Boomers reach age 65 every day. The idea of cutting the staff by 50% is outrageous and irresponsible — and would devastate customer service to the 70 million Americans on Social Security," the committee said. "There is no reason for slashing SSA's workforce by half, other than the ideological crusade of Elon Musk, DOGE, and their sympathizers in SSA leadership to hollow out the agency that administers our most popular social insurance program and privatize as much of the federal government as they possibly can."
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