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martin o'malley
Here Comes Trump's Privatization of the Social Security Administration
"After years of hard work and a lifetime of contributions, our seniors shouldn't have to worry about Republicans meddling with their Social Security," said one House Democrat.
Mar 04, 2025
A leaked email from acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Leland Dudek on Tuesday sparked a fresh wave of warnings about U.S. President Donald Trump and government-gutting billionaire Elon Musk privatizing the agency.
The Bulwark, an anti-Trump conservative news outlet, obtained Dudek's March 1 email to staff, which reportedly says in part that "we need to revitalize SSA operations by streamlining activities, outsource nonessential functions to industry experts, and reinstating human judgment and common sense into every decision at every level."
While Dudek did not elaborate on what outsourcing "nonessential functions" will look like, according to The Bulwark, Martin O'Malley, who led the agency under former President Joe Biden, warned that it could involve automation and the use of artificial intelligence to replace call centers staffed by people trained to help seniors and other beneficiaries sort out complex problems.
O'Malley also said that SSA employees he knows report a "toxic" work environment. He told the The Bulwark that "they are driving people out there with a viciousness that I believe will collapse the agency," which could result in an "interruption of benefits."
"We have a 50-year low in staffing while the baby boomer generation is swelling their ranks," O'Malley said. "That's the underlying reality here, and these guys appear hell-bent on breaking it. It seems they really want to break Social Security."
The former SSA commissioner isn't alone in expressing serious concerns about Dudek, the president, and Musk, head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is leading the Trump administration's attack on federal agenices.
Responding to The Bulwark's reporting on the Musk-owned social media site X, House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said that "after years of hard work and a lifetime of contributions, our seniors shouldn't have to worry about Republicans meddling with their Social Security. This is an attack on our nation's seniors—plain and simple."
Also weighing in on X, Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) declared that "in no way, shape, or form, should we privatize any aspect of Social Security."
Concerns have mounted following a series of events last week, including a wave of Social Security Administration leaders retiring and the agency telling staff that it would be implementing an "organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions." The SSA confirmed a goal to have only 50,000 workers, which requires forcing out 7,000 people.
"With that came an announcement that the agency will consolidate its current 10 regional offices down to four, as well as reorganize headquarters," Government Executivereported. "And Elon Musk's DOGE operatives have canceled the leases for 45 field offices across the country, as well as the Office of Hearings Operations in White Plains, New York."
House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John Larson (D-Conn.) this week led a letter to Dudek signed by over 150 of the chamber's Democrats, who warned that office closures and layoffs "will devastate SSA's ability to serve the public and deliver Social Security payments, inflicting backdoor benefit cuts on the American people."
"Social Security helps approximately 70 million beneficiaries—including seniors, people with disabilities, children, and their families—put food on the table, pay the rent, heat their homes, cover medical bills, and more," the House Democrats wrote. "Shuttering field offices and gutting SSA staffing has nothing to do with 'governmental efficiency.'"
Like O'Malley, they cited the already low staffing level that has led to customer service issues at the SSA. They stressed that office closures "and gutting staff would only deepen the crisis, chaos, and confusion. If the Trump administration is serious about efficiency in delivering benefits to the American people, it would ensure that SSA has the staff and offices needed to serve the public."
Senate Democrats are also sounding the alarm. Government Executivenoted that during a Monday press conference, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) accused Trump and Musk of "taking a wrecking ball" to the SSA while Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) warned that their actions are "a prelude to privatization."
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Official Installed by Trump Moves to 'Demolish' Social Security Administration
"This is nothing more than a backdoor benefit cut and an insult to Americans who have paid into the system and earned their Social Security—all to pay for trillions in new tax cuts for the wealthy," said Democratic Rep. John Larson.
Feb 27, 2025
The acting leader of the Social Security Administration reportedly instructed managers earlier this week to draw up plans for a 50% cut to the agency's workforce, a push that advocates and lawmakers said would result in the gutting or total closure of local field offices—and likely benefit disruptions.
The American Prospect first reported the request from Leland Dudek, whom Trump installed as SSA commissioner earlier this month after the agency's former head resigned following a clash with Elon Musk's deputies over their attempts to access highly sensitive personal data. At the time he was elevated to the helm of SSA, Dudek was under investigation for allegedly sharing information with Musk's team improperly.
According to the Prospect, the deadline for SSA managers to comply with Dudek's request for mass-firing plans was Wednesday afternoon.
"The decision could target one of the government's most prominent public-facing initiatives: SSA field offices, where seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors whose parents have died can sign up for benefits and get information," the outlet noted. "In an email to the Prospect, SSA would not confirm any reductions in its workforce beyond the abolition of two small internal offices announced this week... Sources have speculated to the Prospect that the terminations are being done piecemeal to avoid headlines of tens of thousands of jobs lost."
"Laying off half of the workforce at the Social Security Administration and shuttering field offices will mean the delay, disruption, and denial of benefits."
Nancy Altman, president of the progressive advocacy group Social Security Works, said in a statement Wednesday that Dudek's push for large-scale staff cuts shows the Trump administration and Elon Musk want to "demolish" SSA.
"Contrary to what Elon Musk and his acolytes may believe, AI chatbots are no substitute for in-person service from a human being," said Altman. "Americans apply for Social Security benefits at the most vulnerable times of their lives. Moreover, many people who seek information may have trouble articulating or even knowing what questions they need to ask."
"If Musk's plan goes through, it will deny many Americans access to their hard-earned Social Security benefits. Field offices around the country will close. Wait times for the 1-800 number will soar," Altman warned. "DOGE claims to be concerned about fraud, but the best way to detect fraud is through face-to-face contacts with humans who can detect suspicious responses and can read body language. It's not too late to stop this disaster. We urge everyone to call their members of Congress and tell them that local Social Security offices must stay open and fully staffed."
In the wake of the Prospect's story, Government Executivereported that five of the eight regional SSA commissioners "whose offices oversee and support the agency's frontline offices across the country" have decided to leave their posts at the end of this week amid the Trump administration's onslaught against the federal workforce.
"Their departures come amid rumors of impending staff cuts at SSA, where the workforce is already at a 50-year low and has toiled amid a customer service crisis born of lack of funding," Government Executive noted. "Decades of congressional neglect have seen the agency's administrative budget, which for decades sat at 1.2% of benefit outlays, shrink to under 1%."
The outlet added that "regional commissioners aren't the only ones leaving SSA. An unknown number of other employees are also leaving the agency, which shuttered its civil rights and transformation offices this week."
Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor who served as SSA commissioner under the Biden administration, wrote late Wednesday that "Social Security is being driven to a total system collapse."
"I give the DOGE kids and co-President Musk 30-90 days before they crater it to the point of interruption of benefits," O'Malley added.
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), a champion of Social Security and vocal supporter of expanding benefits, said in a statement that "Donald Trump pledged no cuts to Social Security on the campaign trail, but now he and Elon Musk have plans to do exactly that."
"Let me be clear—laying off half of the workforce at the Social Security Administration and shuttering field offices will mean the delay, disruption, and denial of benefits," said Larson. "This is nothing more than a backdoor benefit cut and an insult to Americans who have paid into the system and earned their Social Security—all to pay for trillions in new tax cuts for the wealthy. This has nothing to do with 'governmental efficiency.'"
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Schumer Endorses Veteran Progressive Organizer Ben Wikler for Chair DNC
The Senate leader called the Wisconsin Democratic Party chair "one of the best organizers in the country" and said he "knows how to win."
Jan 02, 2025
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler on Thursday said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's endorsement of him for a top national leadership role is evidence that the veteran senator, while firmly an establishment politician, "knows the enormous stakes of this moment."
The most prominent lawmaker to endorse a candidate in the race for Democratic National Committee chair, Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that following the party's bruising losses in the November elections, Democrats in power "should view this moment as a challenge."
"We must listen to the American people, learn from the results, and move forward stronger," said Schumer. "That's why I am enthusiastically supporting Ben Wikler to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee."
Schumer highlighted Wikler's successes since he began leading the Wisconsin Democrats, which he's done since 2019. In November, his fundraising and state-wide organizing helped secure a victory for Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) despite Vice President Kamala Harris' loss in the state in the presidential election. The party also flipped 14 seats in the state legislature.
After former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his party "dismantled workers' rights and voting rights, rigging Wisconsin to keep the GOP in power through the courts and the legislature," Schumer said in his statement, "Ben didn't despair. He rolled up his sleeves and helped unify the Democratic Party and reignite Wisconsin Democrats from the grassroots up. This year's election shows the results."
He called Wikler, a former senior adviser to the progressive grassroots group MoveOn, "one of the best organizers in the country... a proven fundraiser, [and] a sharp communicator."
"Most importantly, he knows how to win," said Schumer.
Wikler announced his candidacy to chair the DNC in early December, weeks after President-elect Donald Trump won the White House race and Republicans took control of the House and Senate in the upcoming Congress.
To win future elections, Wikler said at the time, "we've got to make sure that we are reaching people with the message that we are on their side and fighting for them."
Wikler has also received the endorsements of MoveOn and the centrist advocacy group Third Way.
Members of the DNC are set to vote on the chair on February 1, following four candidate forums in January.
At the forums, Wikler is expected to speak along with fellow contenders including 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, and the chair of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, Ken Martin.
Martin was considered an early frontrunner in the race, winning endorsements from 100 out of 448 DNC members early last month.
He also has a strong fundraising and organizing background, having led the DFL since 2011, when the party was struggling to get out of debt. The party has not lost a statewide race since 2006, and is now in a strong financial position.
Martin's messaging has been similar to Wikler's since the race started, with the Minnesota leader calling on Democrats to emphasize that they—not Republicans—are fighting for workers' rights and policies to make families' lives easier.
"The majority of Americans now believe that the Republican Party best represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and the Democrats are for the wealthy and the elite. That's a damning indictment on our party, and clearly our brand as Democrats," Martin toldNPR in late December. "We're fighting for people, people who are working harder than they ever have before."
Days after the two Midwestern leaders entered the race, Greg Sargent of The New Republicinterviewed them both, along with O'Malley, about what the Democratic Party can do to counter the "information gap," which has been worsened by the $20 million Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk "dumped into a brazen pro-Trump propaganda campaign" run by a "shadowy outfit called the RBG PAC."
Wikler offered "the most concrete agenda for dealing with" the problem, said Sargent. The Wisconsin leader said Democrats "must appear far more on right-leaning political shows—not just Fox News but also podcasts and YouTubes and streamed interviews and the like—especially in nonpolitical spaces," in order to "disrupt the right-wing narrative about Democrats."
Wikler also said the party must invest resources in building an "independent, progressive media ecosystem," where leaders would do "high-profile interviews... with the express goal of elevating and empowering it, something the GOP does with Fox News."
Responding to Schumer's endorsement on Thursday, Wikler said that as chair of the DNC, he would "show voters that we are the party of working families everywhere by choosing fights that show who we are for—and who Trump and the GOP are for."
"As Trump and the GOP again seek a multi-trillion-dollar tax cut for billionaires and big corporations, paid for by working people," he said, "Democrats can make clear that we're against those seeking to rig the country for those at the top, and for a country that works for working families."
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