Trump’s Social Security Promise Under Strain as DOGE Cuts Take Toll
Posted on: Apr 09, 2025 01:29 IST | Posted by: Nytimes
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President Trump promised not to touch Social Security, but as Elon Musk’s team trims staff and plans cuts to phone services, the system is groaning under the pressure.
Jack HealyAlexandra BerzonTara Siegel Bernard and Nicholas Nehamas
Jack Healy reported from Glendale, Ariz.; Alexandra Berzon from Los Angeles; Tara Siegel Bernard from New York; and Nicholas Nehamas from Washington, D.C.
The line started forming outside the Social Security office in suburban Glendale, Ariz., not long after sunrise, dozens of retirees and people with disabilities, shuffling papers, some leaning on walkers, all anxious to know whether President Trump’s government overhaul had put their safety nets at risk.
When 9 a.m. Came, an employee emerged from the building with fliers asking the crowd to come back — once they had scheduled an appointment.
“I’ve called for days!” one woman yelled.
“We came from a long ways away,” said another. Still another let everyone know they had been handed a load of bunk, though she used a more colorful term.
With the stock market in turmoil and the economy under threat, beneficiaries might see their monthly Social Security checks as predictable amid the chaos rippling out of Washington. After all, Mr. Trump has promised not to cut Social Security benefits for the 73 million Americans enrolled.
But that promise has not insulated the Depression-era program once deemed the third rail of American politics. Thousands of worried and frustrated recipients have thronged local field offices, asking why the phone lines are jammed, whether their local offices will be closed by Elon Musk’s team of software engineers and technology executives and whether they will lose their benefits.
Waves of buyouts and early retirements have hobbled the staff at many local offices, and recipients say it has become harder to use the agency’s website and phone systems, or even be seen in person.
This map shows only staff members who accepted the one-time buyout offer. It doesn't reflect those who opted into other programs, such as early retirement or deferred resignation.
Share of staff who accepted buyout
25
50%
Minn.
Alexandria, Minn.
50%
Ore.
Mass.
Wis.
R.I.
Pa.
Iowa
Neb.
Ind.
Ill.
Ohio
Md.
Mo.
W.Va.
Va.
Nevada, Mo.
57%
Calif.
Ky.
N.C.
Tenn.
N.M.
Ariz.
S.C.
ARK.
ALA.
MISS.
TEXAS
LA.
FLA.
Share of staff who accepted buyout
25
50%
Minn.
Alexandria, Minn.
50%
Ore.
Mass.
Wis.
Ohio
R.I.
Pa.
Iowa
Neb.
Ind.
Ill.
W.Va.
Md.
Nevada, Mo.
57%
Calif.
Va.
Ky.
Mo.
N.C.
Tenn.
N.M.
Ariz.
S.C.
ARK.
MISS.
TEXAS
ALA.
LA.
FLA.
Source: Social Security Administration
By Zach Levitt
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