'They're Lying': Despite Claims, Social Security Office Closures—Which Mean Cuts—Are Coming
SSA identified "underutilized office space" and provided the General Services Administration (GSA) with "a list of sites for termination," the agency continued. "Most of these are small hearing rooms with no assigned employees. Since most hearings are held virtually, SSA no longer needs these underutilized rooms."
The agency echoed those claims on social media Monday. One post on X—the platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk, the apparent leader of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency—said that SSA "is NOT permanently closing field offices. Only underutilized hearing office space has been closed and without permanently closing field offices."
SSA "continues to make this information widely available. The administration remains committed to serving people where they need us," the agency added, linking to a webpage that lists vacated occupancies and GSA building disposals.
However, just hours after those posts, Government Executivereported that "a draft plan for service delivery at the Social Security Administration includes 'field office consolidation' as a goal for next year—even as the agency maintains publicly that it isn't closing field offices."
According to the outlet:
The draft plan, originally sent March 21 and obtained by Government Executive, is required by the Trump administration by April 14 as part of its push to gut the federal workforce and reorganize agencies. Asked for comment Monday, SSA spokeswoman Nicole Tiggemann wrote, "There is no validity to this claim."
[...]
SSA is also looking to shed thousands of employees. The March 21 document says that the agency plans to cut 5,500 employees by the end of the fiscal year as part of the agency’s plan to get down to 50,000 employees, as Government Executive previously reported.
The new reporting sparked outrage on social media, with one X user
calling it "very disturbing for Americans on social assistance."
Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor of Harper's Magazine, declared, "They're lying about not closing Social Security field offices."
Potential field office closures are generating concern in part because of other changes at SSA—including the Trump administration's attack on phone services and an identity verification policy set to take effect next week, after a brief delay. Beginning April 14, people who can't verify their identity online through "my Social Security" must do so in-person.
It is already difficult for many Americans to access SSA locations. A Tuesday analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) shows that in 35 states, more than 10% of seniors must travel over 45 miles to their closest field office.
"Many Social Security beneficiaries don't drive while others have mobility issues that make getting to in-person appointments difficult or burdensome, even if they do not live great distances away," noted a pair of CBPP experts. "Nationally, it's estimated that over 6 million seniors don't drive, and nearly 8 million seniors report a medical condition or disability that makes it difficult to travel outside the home."
"Distances from the nearest Social Security field office are measured in a straight line ('as the crow flies')," they explained, "so actual distances for seniors to travel will likely be significantly longer, including if they use public transportation."
Axios, which first reported on the CBPP data, obtained an internal memo in which SSA "acknowledged cutting off phone service could drive as many as 85,000 people per week to its already backlogged field offices."
The Trump administration addressed "telephone performance" in its Monday X posts,
saying that "wait times are too long, predate the current administration, and the American people deserve the truth."
The SSA social media account also blamed the previous administration for recent website "challenges."
The Washington Post reported Monday that "the website has crashed repeatedly in recent weeks, with outages lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to almost a day, according to six current and former officials with knowledge of the issues. Even when the site is back online, many customers have not been able to sign in to their accounts—or have logged in only to find information missing. For others, access to the system has been slow, requiring repeated tries to get in."
Several members of Congress are sounding the alarm about Trump and Musk's attack on SSA. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the chamber's floor Tuesday that "we all know what game they're playing. Donald Trump and his inner circle are howling about fraud, with the hopes of discrediting Social Security entirely."
"Never mind that there is no rampant fraud in Social Security. Never mind that it's overwhelmingly popular with Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, rural people, suburban people, urban people. Why are they doing this then?" he continued. "So Republicans can cut taxes for the rich. This is a heist."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) weighed in on X Monday, sharing a Wall Street Journal report about hourslong lines and phone cutoffs.
"Donald Trump and Elon Musk are cutting Social Security staff, closing offices, and shutting off vital phone services. One field office worker called it a 'house of cards that's about to collapse,'" she said. "This attack is hurting Americans everywhere. We will keep fighting back."
