3 Political Figures Pushing Against Trump’s Social Security Proposals and 3 Who Are For Them
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Angela Corry
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Proposals by President Donald Trump to reform Social Security have been met with widespread resistance by a coalition of senior advocates, Democrats and watchdog groups. Support for the proposals have been more muted, with most defenders coming from Trump’s inner circle and political allies.
Much of the focus has been on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a non-official organization headed by Elon Musk. DOGE aims to drastically reduce the federal government — including Social Security — by downsizing operations and cutting staff
Musk himself has referred to Social Security as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time” and a major source of “waste and fraud in entitlement spending,” Time reported. Those comments didn’t exactly endear the Telsla CEO to Social Security advocates.
Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — another businessman whose net worth is estimated between $2 billion and $4 billion — also came under fire when he said his mother-in-law “wouldn’t call and complain” if she missed a Social Security payment.
While debates rage over the future direction of Social Security, several moves have already been made to reform the agency.
In February, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced plans to cut about 7,000 jobs. That followed an earlier announcement that the SSA would eliminate 41 jobs and close at least 10 field offices.
Other recent moves include the following:
- Requiring in-person visits for customer service issues that have traditionally been conducted over the phone. The SSA later walked back this requirement after a public outcry, though it might be revisited in the future.
- Pressuring certain immigrants and others with legal status to be in the U.S. to “self-deport” by “effectively canceling” the Social Security numbers they had lawfully obtained, The New York Times reported. Under this proposal, immigrants would be added to a database of dead people, thus “rendering their Social Security numbers inoperable,” according to an administration official who spoke with Reuters.
Here’s a look at three political figures who have pushed back against Trump’s Social Security proposals:
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) Schumer recently told the media that “fewer people will get benefits” because of what the Trump administration has done, NBC News reported. “This is another way of killing Social Security, plain and simple.”
- Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.): In a conversation with the Huffington Post, Neal suggested that DOGE’s claims of widespread Social Security fraud could be a way to delegitimize the agency and pave the way for privatization. “I think that what they say with fraud is, ‘Well, here’s the plan: If we keep suggesting that there’s a lot of fraud, then, if we cut contact with the Social Security Administration, then we can prove that it doesn’t work,” Neal said.
- Rep. John B. Larson (D-Conn.): The House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member issued this statement after the SSA walked back its plans to cut phone services: “Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been coming after Social Security to pay for new tax breaks for the wealthy, but the American people are speaking up to tell them, ‘Hands off!’ … We must continue to vociferously hold Trump, Musk and their ‘DOGE’ accountable for all the chaos, confusion and damage they have created.”
Here are three political figures who have come to Trump’s defense:
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.): Scott told NBC News that he believes Trump is “going to do the right things” with Social Security. He also said the SSA understands its responsibility to “answer the phones and take care of Social Security recipients.”
- Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho): Per NBC News, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee recently said Trump’s critics are engaged in “scare tactics” and added that the president “has said very clearly that we are not going to cut Social Security benefits.”
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Although Cornyn has not specifically endorsed any of the Trump proposals, he did tell NBC News that the SSA is in “a transition period” and “there will be a number of changes, plus and minus … Ultimately, I don’t think those kinds of personnel decisions are going to be best made by Congress.”
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