The Social Security Administration briefly required parents in Maine to register their newborns for a Social Security number at a Social Security office, instead of checking a box on a form at the hospital, before reversing course on the directive on Friday.
The initial move was panned as burdensome and potentially dangerous—and some observers speculated that it could have been a form of retaliation against Maine's Democratic governor, who last month had a public confrontation with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"It makes absolutely no sense to me at all to do this," Dr. Joe Anderson, advocacy chair of the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Portland Press Herald on Thursday. "I see no logical explanation for forcing parents and newborns—with 11,000 babies born in Maine every year—to sit in a crowded waiting room, when we have done this easily, securely and efficiently for decades."
Earlier this week, officials at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said they were told by the Social Security Administration that the Trump administration had abruptly canceled two contracts halting the "Enumeration at Birth" process, which has been effect since the 1980s, that allows new parents to fill out a form at a hospital or health center to secure a Social Security number for their child, according to the Press Herald. The officials said no explanation was given. The directive would have also impacted electronic filing of death records at funeral homes.
But on Friday morning, the Press Herald reported that the Trump administration had backtracked. "The SSA has just notified Maine DHHS that it is rescinding the terminations of the Maine contracts for Enumeration at Birth (EAB) and Electronic Death Records (EDR) effective immediately," said Alisa Morton, spokesperson for the Maine DHHS, according to the outlet.
"I recently directed Social Security employees to end two contracts which affected the good people of the state of Maine," said Lee Dudek, Acting Social Security Commissioner, in a statement on Friday. "In retrospect, I realize that ending these contracts created an undue burden on the people of Maine, which was not the intent. For that, I apologize and have directed that both contracts be immediately reinstated... As a leader, I will admit my mistakes and make them right."
BothHuffPost and the Press Heraldreported that the contracts may have been targeted by Elon Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency."
The two outlets identified that DOGE's website lists multiple canceled "Enumeration at Birth" contracts for states and one U.S. territory. Maine, however, is not listed among them.
The initial news that Maine parents would not be able to use the "Enumeration at Birth" process had some observers wondering if the change was a form of retaliation for Maine Gov. Janet Mills' recent public confrontation with Trump.
"There's been zero explanation for this given but it seems exceedingly likely it's pure retaliation for the Maine governor challenging Trump. Really sick," wroteMSNBC anchor Chris Hayes, before the news that it had been reversed. The radio journalist Kai Ryssdal also said that the initial move was because "Gov Mills told [Trump] something he didn't want to hear."
Last month, Trump and Mills tangled at a White House event over Maine's opposition to complying with an executive order that bars transgender student athletes from playing on girls' sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The Maine Principals' Association, which dictates school sports in Maine, announced that it would continue to allow trans girls to play on girls' sports teams and that the organization will follow state law that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.
During a National Governors Association event at the White house, Trump and Mills had a tense exchange where Trump said that if the state didn't follow the directive then Maine would not get "any federal funding." Mills responded, "We're going to follow the law sir. We'll see you in court."
On Friday, the president of the advocacy group Social Security Works, Nancy Altman, weighed in on the situation: "Cancelling those contracts created waste, abuse, and at least the potential for fraud. There is no policy reason for cancelling them, and many policy reasons against it."
"The only explanation is political revenge against Maine Governor Janet Mills, who has recently defied the Trump Administration," she said.
This piece was updated on Friday afternoon with comments from the president of Social Security Works.
