AARP Furious About Trump Administration Curtailing Social Security Phone Service
HuffPost
Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s false fraud warnings have led to rapid changes at the Social Security Administration.
WASHINGTON — The leading advocacy group for older Americans is not happy at all about the Donald Trump administration’s plans to require office visits for certain Social Security requests that have long been handled by phone.
The Social Security Administration announced Tuesday that, beginning at the end of the month, anyone unable to prove their identity via SSA.gov will have to do it in person at one of the agency’s 1,200 field offices instead of just picking up the phone.
“Asking tens of millions of Americans to jump through new hoops and prove their identity in the next 13 days to access the customer service they have paid for is deeply unacceptable,” AARP Vice President Nancy LeaMond warned in a letter to Leland Dudek, Social Security’s acting commissioner.
Dudek said the change was necessary to prevent Social Security fraud, which has emerged as a top concern for President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, with the duo falsely claiming Social Security makes bogus payouts to millions of phantom beneficiaries.
Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has pushed the Social Security Administration to shrink its staff, office space and contracts. Dudek was put in charge after he went around superiors, who have since resigned, to help DOGE gain access to the agency’s most sensitive databases, which contain personal information about practically everybody in America.
"This isn't just about Republicans," the New York Democrat said during an event with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Nevada.
Trump's administration recently sent more than 250 Venezuelan migrants there, even as a judge issued an order temporarily blocking the deportations.
Paul Burke detailed the "punitive" way his daughter Rebecca was treated prior to her deportation.
There’s no greater evidence that "know-your-rights" training is working than from what Trump officials themselves have said.
Democracy Forward has emerged as a leading legal organization that’s been slowing, if not stopping, some of Trump’s recklessness.
Since Donald Trump took office, there have been high-profile incidents of tourists being held for weeks at U.S. immigration facilities before being allowed to fly home.
The congresswoman had an "intelligent" takeaway after the Trump adviser mocked her time in the service industry.
The John F. Kennedy assassination documents released this week disclosed sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers.
This is the eighth time Elon Musk has had to recall the Cybertruck, which has only been on roads for just over a year.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s false fraud warnings have led to rapid changes at the Social Security Administration.
The White House press secretary argued Wednesday that a federal judge who has frequently ruled in favor of Trump is "a Democrat activist."
“Deport Elon! Deport Elon!” people at a Laramie, Wyoming, town hall event chanted as Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman tried to speak.
The notable pushback from Trump's supporters comes as the president seeks to slash costs across the entire federal government.