Trump’s ‘Reaper’ is Coming for Your Disability Benefits
Trump & OMB Director Russell Vought (aka "The Reaper") The Trump administration is escalating its attacks on Social Security.
Let the Drug Pricing Games Begin!
nder pressure from the White House, Big Pharma has been touting “discounts” via Direct to Consumer (DTC) websites. Meanwhile, the Trump administration promises to unveil its own prescription website, immodestly named TrumpRx, in 2026. Prescription drug prices obviously are still too high, though President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 was beginning to make headway in bringing them down. Unlike Biden’s IRA, these latest gestures by Big Pharma and the Trump Administration should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Trump Shutdown Could Snag Social Security, Medicare
In normal times, a government shutdown --- while unfortunate --- would not be cause for immediate alarm for people on Social Security and Medicare. But these are not normal times. The Trump administration has made the shutdown more perilous for the most vulnerable Americans because of its campaign to undermine the delivery of both programs --- not to mention the President’s recent threat to cut benefits.
Bisignano’s Un-Truthy Letter to the People — or “Fact-Checking the Frankster”
The Trump administration continues to gaslight the American people about its interference in the workings of the Social Security Administration (SSA). So it's time for another fact-check. The Trump administration and DOGE savagely cut staff, closed field offices, and erected barriers for beneficiaries attempting to access their earned benefits --- as part of a phony hunt for ‘fraud’ (which, in fact, is extremely rare).
Now, Commissioner Frank Bisignano is misleading the public by claiming that these actions have ‘improved’ customer service, when they have, in fact, made things significantly worse. On the 90th anniversary of Social Security in August, SSA posted an 'un-truthy' letter from Bisignano to the American people on its website.
We asked our director of government relations and policy, Dan Adcock, to knock down the false claims by Trump’s Social Security commissioner:
DOGE ‘Very Badly’ Mishandles Americans’ Social Security Data
Back in February, we warned that DOGE was compromising Americans’ personal information by accessing sensitive Social Security data:
“Seniors, their families, and people with disabilities most certainly cannot trust Trump and Musk with their crucial federal benefits — or their personal data.” – Max Richtman, NCPSSM President, 2/3/25
This week, our fears were confirmed. For no justifiable reason, DOGE team members uploaded the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans to “a vulnerable cloud server,” according to a whistleblower within the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Trump Marks Social Security’s 90th Anniversary by Spreading Misinformation
Social Security turned 90 this week, a milestone that should have been celebrated with reverence. However, the Trump administration marked the occasion by perpetuating misleading claims about its handling of the program. From manipulating statistics to spreading untruths about immigrants, this administration is playing a dangerous game with one of America’s most cherished federal programs.
Manipulating Metrics to Rewrite Reality
As our president, Max Richtman, reminds us, “We wish we could simply celebrate, but the 90-year history of Social Security shows that we must always defend the program from those who would privatize or outright eliminate it.” Richtman emphasizes, “Social Security is part of the fabric of American life and must be preserved for the future.”
Trump/DOGE Actions Fuel Surge in Social Security Claims
More Americans are suddenly filing for Social Security earlier than planned --- and it isn’t necessarily because they’re eager to retire. Interference in the Social Security system by Trump, Musk and DOGE has triggered a wave of public panic about the future of the program. For many, it’s created a sense of urgency to claim benefits before any other harmful changes are made.
According to CBS News, early Social Security claims have surged by 17% this year compared to the same period in 2024. If this trend continues, annual filings are on track to reach 4 million. This spike comes amid the slashing of workforce and resources at the Social Security Administration under the guise of hunting for ‘waste and fraud.’
Former Social Security Official Says Musk/DOGE Caused “Trauma and Chaos” at SSA
Laura Haltzel is the first former Social Security Administration (SSA) official who was present for the Trump administration’s takeover of the agency to speak out publicly in an on the record interview. In her first interview since leaving SSA, Haltzel told Entitled to Know that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “traumatized” SSA employees — and created “gross inefficiencies” in the system. Haltzel resigned her post as Associate Commissioner Office of Research, Evaluation and Statistics on February 28, accepting an early retirement offer that the administration extended to all SSA employees.
Trump & Musk Tried to Make it Harder for Parents to Register Newborns for Social Security
It started as a baffling and alarming decision. The Social Security Administration (SSA), under the influence of President Trump’s campaign to gut the federal government and Elon Musk’s DOGE team, announced the termination of Maine’s Enumeration at Birth (EAB) program. For 35 years, the EAB program had allowed parents to register their newborns for Social Security numbers right at the hospital. But suddenly, without warning, SSA moved to rescind this critical service, effectively forcing parents to register their children for Social Security with an SSA agent, at a time when Trump and Musk are closing SSA field offices and radically reducing the agency’s workforce.
What the Heck is Going on at the Social Security Administration?
In the short period of time that Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE have had their hooks in the Social Security Administration, there have been alarming changes at the agency. The most obvious – and most egregious – is Musk and DOGE’s access to the sensitive personal data of some 70 million Social Security beneficiaries, creating the potential for enormous abuse. This was the first line of attack in Musk’s bogus campaign to expose fraud at an agency where improper payments are less than 1% of total benefits paid.