The Social Security Administration (SSA) is under instruction to slash its staff by 50 percent, according to media reports.
Newsweek reached out to the agency via online form for comment.
Why It Matters
After his 2024 presidential election victory and subsequent inauguration, President Donald Trump announced creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he entrusted to billionaire Elon Musk.
DOGE is tasked with cutting waste in the federal budget. After repeated questioning and speculation, the White House announced on Tuesday that Amy Gleason was appointed acting administrator of the task force.
Concerns have grown over potential cuts to Social Security and Medicaid after the House passed a budget blueprint on Tuesday evening.
What To Know
Washington Post reporter Jeff Stein and The American Prospect Executive Editor David Dayen reported on X (formerly Twitter) that the workforce at the SSA is expected to be cut in half. Stein added in his post on X that the layoffs “are imminent.”
Dayen’s post on X notes that the terminations will include 1,200 field office locations.
The reported terminations to the SSA workforce come as DOGE also takes aim at other federal departments, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the previous dismantlement of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Protesters demonstrate outside the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C., on February 7 to demand termination of Elon Musk from the Department of Government Efficiency.
BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
What People Are Saying
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont posted to X on Wednesday: “Trump guarantees that he won’t cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid to provide tax breaks to billionaires. If you take Trump’s word on that, you probably believe that Ukraine started the war, not Russia. Fight back. No cuts to Medicaid. No tax breaks for billionaires.”
X account Social Security Works on Wednesday, replying to the news of imminent staff cuts: “URGENT: Call your Members of Congress at 202-224-3121. Tell them NO CUTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY – and that includes keeping your local field office open and fully staffed.”
Jeff Nesbit, former assistant secretary of public affairs for Health and Human Services, posted to X on Wednesday: “Cutting the Social Security Administration career staff in half is how you cripple the most successful social insurance program in US history without saying that’s what you’re doing. Social Security has MASSIVE bipartisan support. They are coming for Social Security and Medicare. The Medicaid and SNAP cuts were the start.”
What Happens Next
It is immediately unknown when the reported cuts are planned to occur and how distribution of benefits would be impacted.
Update 2/26/25, 7:09 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
