Since being inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump has signed an executive order that directs government agencies to reduce their staff and cut costs. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is expected to reduce its staff by 7,000 workers to 50,000, as well as shutter some of its locations.

The two maintain that they won’t attack the program, but their repeated claims of rampant fraud serve a strategic purpose.

It’s an unfortunate fact that many Americans enter retirement without savings. People in that boat inevitably wind up heavily reliant on Social Security, to the point where it’s their only source of income.

You may have heard the rumor that Social Security is about to go broke. And thankfully, that’s all it is — a rumor. Social Security can’t go broke because it gets funded by payroll taxes. So as long as there’s an active labor force,

The Washington Post published an article (archived) titled "Social Security, facing pressure from DOGE, weighs big cuts to phone service." The story alleged that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative championed by Elon Musk was attempting to push the Social Security Administration (SSA) to cut its telephone service for claims processing and direct deposit transactions.