Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Richard E. Neal, Ranking Member of the Committee on Ways and Means, sent a letter to U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek demanding SSA immediately abandon plans to make it more difficult for Social Security beneficiaries and applicants to access their hard-earned benefits, including using Elon Musk’s social media platform X to communicate with the public and scrapping longtime identity verification practices. This letter is one of several actions taken by Democrats as part of today’s Save Social Security Day of Action.
“We write with alarm over the Trump Administration’s ongoing attacks on the Social Security benefits that approximately 70 million Americans rely on, and the chaos inflicted on the Social Security Administration (SSA), which provides critical services to support these benefits. We demand that you immediately halt this outrageous assault, and provide the information necessary for our Committees to investigate the harm inflicted on the American people.” The Ranking Members continued, “The earned benefits help American families put food on the table, pay for rent, heat their homes, cover medical bills, and more. Social Security’s importance to the American people and its approximately 70 million beneficiaries cannot be overstated.”
In their letter, the Ranking Members pointed to recent reporting showing that the Trump-Musk Administration cut SSA’s communications staff so deeply that the agency announced plans to rely on X, Elon Musk’s privately owned social media platform, to communicate with the public despite the fact that one in four seniors do not use the internet. These plans appear to be evolving, but major questions remain.
On March 18, 2025, SSA announced that it was ending the use of phone service for individuals seeking to process benefit claims and direct deposit changes as of March 31, 2025. Instead, beneficiaries would need to use online identity proofing or visit a SSA office in-person. SSA backed off plans to end phone verification after realizing the chaos it would have caused.
In their letter, the Ranking Members cite a memo sent by the Acting Commissioner that shows that eliminating the option of telephonic identity verification would have caused an estimated 75,000 to 85,000 additional individuals to visit SSA offices each week, leading to longer wait times and processing times.
“We demand information on the ongoing changes at SSA, including potential communication changes, plans for responding to congressional inquiries, and new policies regarding the ability of individuals to apply for Social Security benefits by telephone and for beneficiaries to update their direct deposit by telephone,” concluded the Ranking Members.
Click here to read the letter to Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek.
