24-04-2025
Social Security Inspector General Under Pressure Over Cuts
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A group of Democrats has requested the Social Security Administration (SSA) watchdog investigate the agency over a myriad of cuts and changes that have taken place since President Donald Trump took office.
Newsweek has contacted the SSA and the Inspector General's Office for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
The SSA, which administers vital benefits to some 70 million Americans every month, has undergone a slew of changes under the Trump administration. The reforms, which include job cuts and office closures, have been mandated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
What To Know
In the letter to Social Security Inspector General Michelle L. Anderson, Senate Democrats have asked for a review on how recent reforms, including cuts and office closures, made under the Trump administration are affecting services and potentially disrupting payment of benefits.
The Inspector General's Office acts as a watchdog for the federal agency and provides reports on its running and finances on a regular basis.
In the letter, the group, which includes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senators Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts and Ron Wyden from Oregon, asked for the inspector general to review the SSA's decision to embark on an "organizational structure, close numerous offices, and significantly reduce its workforce to determine whether it has affected the agency's ability to provide quality customer service."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren at a news conference on Senate Republican's Budget Resolution legislation at the Capitol on April 03, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren at a news conference on Senate Republican's Budget Resolution legislation at the Capitol on April 03, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/GETTY
Since February, when DOGE began looking into the agency as part of its efforts to slash government spending, the SSA has announced it intends to cut its workforce from 57,000 to 50,000, as well as shutter internal departments and close regional offices.
"These actions have already created a chilling effect among the agency's workforce, with several senior SSA officials with centuries' worth of institutional knowledge and experience having already left the agency," the letter reads. "We are concerned that this hostile environment will foster burnout, low morale, higher attrition, and worse productivity among employees."
The letter also asks the watchdog whether it has conducted any analyses on how the changes could impact beneficiaries, and requests it provide "quarterly updates of the impact of the agency reorganization and any future workforce reductions has had on customer service."
In a February 19 statement, acting Commissioner Leland Dudek affirmed his commitment to being accountable to the inspector general.
"Transparency begins with me: My first call as Acting Commissioner was to our Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to provide them an opportunity to oversee and review any and all agency activities, including my actions past, present, and future," he said upon his appointment. "I trust in the People to be informed, and I am making available my agency personnel and performance files to the OIG."
What People Are Saying
Democrats wrote in the letter: "In just the last month, SSA has rapidly shuttered offices, slashed thousands of its employees, and abruptly changed (and then reversed) long-standing customer service practices, with little transparency or consideration on its impact to its customers."
Dudek, in his February 19 statement: "Good government means finding ways to do better: The Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, is a critical part of President Trump's commitment to identifying fraud, waste, and abuse, and better ways for the government to function to support its people."
What's Next
The SSA has not yet publicly responded to the Senate Democrats' letter.
