The big picture: For generations, Social Security was called "the third rail of American politics" — many talked of reform, but in the end no one really touched the system.
- That changed this week.
- "She just wouldn't. She'd think something got messed up, and she'll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining,"
The response: A Commerce Department spokesperson tells Axios: "The Secretary is committed to protecting Social Security for all eligible Americans."
The intrigue: As Lutnick's podcast remarks were drawing angry responses, a judge was expressing her own frustration Friday with the acting head of the agency, Lee Dudek.
- He was chastised by Maryland District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander over his reported threats to shut down the agency, following a temporary restraining order she had issued the previous day.
- The order restricted DOGE's access to Social Security's sensitive data. Dudek reportedly claimed the order left him no choice but to cut IT access for almost all his employees, which she said was "incorrect."
Zoom out: "Constantly having Social Security Administration in the news with with some, some, something or another, is creating a lot of confusion, a lot of chaos, a lot of real fear with our members," Bill Sweeney, vice president for government affairs at AARP, told Axios earlier this week.
The other side: The agency has said that its changes are meant to stop fraud in the system.
- That's what Lutnick seemed to be getting at: *Anybody who's been in the payment system, in the process system, knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen, because whoever screams is the one stealing. ... 80-year-olds, 90-years-olds, they trust the government, they trust, ok, maybe it got screwed up, big deal, they're not going to call and scream at someone — but someone who's stealing always does."
- Almost every member of Congress has a staff person whose job is almost fully dedicated to helping their constituents with problems at the Social Security Administration," AARP's Sweeney told Axios.
- In recent years the complaints have increased, as the agency faced a five-year staffing low. Planned DOGE-driven staff and office cuts could make that worse.
- "For almost 90 years, Social Security has never missed a paycheck — but 60 days into this administration, Social Security is now on the brink," Lee Saunders, president of the union AFSCME, said in a statement Friday.
by Emily Peck, Axios | Read more:
Image: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
[ed. A billionaire telling SSA recipients to just suck it up if their regular monthly payments disappear - no problem! If you can stomach it, watch the video. The self-satisfaction and sociopathy are breath-taking. I expect this guy to be gone sooner than anyone's first missed SSA check.]
