Warren, Wyden, Kelly Demand Answers on Reported Social Security Benefit Disruptions
“These beneficiaries are some of the most vulnerable in the nation—low-income seniors and children and adults with disabilities—and face extraordinary hardship if their benefits are delayed or disrupted.”
“[W]e are concerned that these efforts are a precursor to attempts to make further cuts to Social Security, or privatize it entirely.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) pressed Acting Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Leland Dudek for answers after reports of recent disruptions to Americans’ Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The new letter marks the first investigation from Senate Democrats' Social Security War Room, a coordinated effort to protect Americans’ Social Security from Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s efforts to gut the agency.
SSI supports the most vulnerable Americans by providing monthly payments to children and adults with disabilities as well as seniors experiencing economic insecurity, and has strict income and asset restrictions for beneficiaries. This means even brief disruptions in benefits could have devastating impacts for these families.
“These beneficiaries are some of the most vulnerable in the nation—low-income seniors and children and adults with disabilities—and face extraordinary hardship if their benefits are delayed or disrupted,” wrote the senators.
In March, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) forced its way into SSA, improperly accessed taxpayers’ sensitive data, announced closures of Social Security field offices, and implemented policies making it more difficult for citizens to claim their benefits or address problems. Now, constituents have submitted disturbing reports that their SSI accounts or accounts they manage for a disabled family member display the message “currently not receiving payments,” and that payment history and data have disappeared.
These issues are just the latest, including increased wait times and website crashes, in the chaos caused by DOGE’s attacks meant to hollow out the agency by slashing the workforce, closing offices across the country, and cutting critical phone services.
“This alarming episode raises fresh questions about operations at SSA and the effects of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s attacks on the agency, which you have helped facilitate…Indeed, we are concerned that these efforts are a precursor to attempts to make further cuts to Social Security, or privatize it entirely,” said the lawmakers.
To better understand the source of these benefit disruptions, the senators demanded Dudek explain why recipients’ accounts were marked as “currently not receiving benefits,” how many recipients’ benefits were interrupted, whether these interruptions were related to DOGE’s actions at the agency, and more, by April 12, 2025.
Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room is a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.
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