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, which would have compelled parents to register their children for Social Security with an SSA representative after leaving the hospital, at a time when Trump and Musk are closing SSA field offices and radically reducing the agency’s workforce.
Tellingly, SSA offered no reason for the original policy change — or its reversal shortly after. – NCPSSM, 3/7/25
Thankfully, after blowback from media reports and pressure from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the SSA reversed its decision and rescinded the new policy. This quick reversal is good for Maine families, but make no mistake, the attempt itself speaks volumes about the Trump administration’s apparent agenda to dismantle Social Security from within.
Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, captured the severity of the situation when he noted, “The attempt to end the EAB program in Maine was the latest effort by Trump, Musk, and DOGE to incapacitate the agency that administers Social Security benefits for 73 million Americans. Even though they’ve backtracked in Maine, this obviously is part of a policy aimed at undermining the program.”
The Broader Strategy to Chip Away at Social Security
While the decision to reinstate EAB in Maine is welcome news for now, other states—including Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, and Rhode Island— are listed on the DOGE website as having their EAB contracts terminated as part of Musk’s “cost cutting” efforts.
Trump and Musk’s intentions are becoming increasingly obvious. This is part of a systematic effort to make Social Security harder to access and, in the process, shrink the program as a whole. “By closing field offices, coercing experienced employees into early retirement, and cutting over 7,000 jobs, the administration is methodically stripping the SSA of its ability to serve Americans efficiently,” said Richtman.
“Trump clearly has his priorities backwards. First, he makes the absurd claim that 360 year-olds may be collecting benefits, then he tries to strip parents of the ability to easily register their children for Social Security.” – Max Richtman, NCPSSM President and CEO
Temporary Reprieve in Maine, but an Ongoing Threat
The reversal of the EAB policy in Maine shows what media exposure can accomplish. The fact remains that SSA thought it could quietly eliminate this program with little to no accountability.
Policies like this create barriers. Barriers discourage participation. Discouraged participation weakens the system. It’s a chain reaction designed to dismantle Social Security — not in one master stroke but piece by piece.
This strategy isn’t just cruel; it’s deliberate. Richtman summed it up perfectly:
“Why on earth would the administration want to make it harder for parents to register their children for Social Security unless the aim was to shrink the size of the program?” – Max Richtman, 3/7/25
A Bigger Pattern of Sabotage
At the heart of this issue lies a deeper truth. Trump and Musk have long criticized Social Security. Musk recently called it a “Ponzi Scheme,” and Trump dismissed it as a “scam.” Their solution? Slash one of the government’s most effective and efficient programs, which currently has an overhead of less than 1%. By targeting EAB programs, shuttering field offices, and radically reducing staff, they’re advancing this goal. It isn’t just bad policy. It’s a blatant betrayal of Trump’s promise “not to touch” Social Security.