Hands Off Social Security: Drastic DOGE-Backed Changes Put Benefits for Millions at Risk

The Social Security benefits of millions of people in the United States are at risk as the Trump administration institutes drastic changes billed as “anti-fraud” measures, but which critics say are aimed at weakening the popular program and potentially laying the groundwork to privatize it. The Social Security Administration has already shuttered dozens of offices across the country and is laying off thousands of workers. At the same time, the agency is demanding people make more in-office visits for routine business. The changes are part of government-wide efforts led by billionaire Elon Musk and DOGE, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

“They are destabilizing the program,” says Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works and chair of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition. “It’s really hard to imagine what they have in mind, what their endgame is, other than destroying our Social Security system.”

We also speak with Jacobin staff writer Branko Marcetic, who says Trump’s nominee to head the Social Security Administration, financial services executive Frank Bisignano, has a reputation for slashing costs and pushing out staff. “All of that is a pretty grim portent” of his plans for the Social Security Administration, if Bisignano is confirmed, says Marcetic. “The people that are going to be hurt by it are the actual Social Security beneficiaries.”

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