An ‘out-of-touch billionaire’ at Social Security

U.S. Senator Patty Murray released a new report on the federal administration’s attacks on the SSA as she voted against Trump Social Security nominee Frank Bisignano

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 7, 2025) — Website crashes. Soaring wait times. Mass layoffs. Offices so short-staffed calls can’t be returned. These are just some of the ways the federal administration’s actions targeting the Social Security Administration have deprived Washingtonians of access to the benefits they’ve earned, according to a new report from the office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray.

The report was released following the confirmation vote for Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration on Tuesday. In a statement, Murray was clear in her opposition to Bisignano’s confirmation.

“Trump’s pick to lead the Social Security Agency is a billionaire CEO known for slashing his companies — Frank Bisignano is all-in on Trump and Elon’s mission to break Social Security so they can privatize it, and is a disastrous choice to lead an agency responsible for getting Social Security benefits out to 73 million Americans every month,” said the Senator. “We need someone who will stand up against Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to gut Social Security and cut benefits — not another out-of-touch billionaire who has no clue what it means to rely on Social Security and will only enable their attacks.”

Bisignano has self-described as a “DOGE person” and is accused of lying under oath during confirmation hearings about his ties to the billionaire outfit.

“A vote for Frank Bisignano is a vote to be complicit in this administration’s unprecedented destruction of Social Security,” continued Murray. “I voted NO.”

The comprehensive report from Murray’s office contextualizes this opposition, offering concrete examples of how the federal administration’s actions have harmed Washingtonians.

Take Colleen Gingrich in Vancouver, WA, for example. In the report, she shares that reductions in SSA staff has her worried about whether her mom, who relies on Social Security and suffers from seizures, will be able to receive answers to questions about recently announced policy changes. Top of mind for Gingrich are changes to the “claw back rate” applied to monthly checks if beneficiaries are overpaid, often due to a miscalculation by the agency.

In these cases, once SSA realizes the mistake, it will begin “clawing back” the overpayment from beneficiaries’ monthly check. The Biden administration limited that rate to 10 percent, but the Trump administration reversed that policy in March, reinstituting a 100 percent claw back rate, a rate so high it could easily push many seniors into severe financial hardship. While the SSA released an emergency message last month in response to public outcry setting the claw back rate to 50 percent, that percentage is still high enough to pose a serious financial danger for many.

The long wait times and office closures at the SSA make figuring out these rapid-fire changes — and determining how they impact benefits — extremely difficult. Without proper staffing, seniors and disabled folks who rely on SSA face an uncertain future.

John Pfannenstein, President for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3937, representing SSA employees in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, paints an alarming picture of how recent and planned actions to reduce staff will impact service. “This is going to devastate our workforce, and especially those of us who are in front facing positions like me working in field offices, working at our 800 number, the people who hold the disability hearings. All of these components are designed to function as one entity and that is to serve the public and administer our benefit programs to them. We are already under incredible pressure to do that with our staffing levels as they are seeing more and more beneficiaries and applicants than ever before in history.”

For Murray, the end goal is clear: “From slashing Social Security employees when the agency is already painfully understaffed, to shuttering local Social Security offices, to announcing chaotic and burdensome policy reversals that make it harder for seniors and people with disabilities to get the Social Security benefits they are owed, Trump and Elon Musk are doing everything they can to break the Social Security Administration and cut people off from their hard-earned Social Security benefits.”