Let’s say a 66-year-old man qualifies for Social Security. He’s worked his whole life and contributed his hard-earned money, believing in America’s promise that if you pay into the system, you can count on these benefits when you retire. Say he calls the Social Security helpline to apply, but he’s told about a new DOGE rule, so he has to go online or in person. He can’t drive. He has trouble with the website, so he waits until his niece can get a day off to take him to the local office, but DOGE closed that office, so they have to drive two hours to get to the next closest office. When they get there, there are only two people staffing a 50-person line, so he doesn’t even make it to the front of the line before the office closes, and he has to come back. Let’s assume it takes him three months to straighten this out, and he misses a total of $5,000 in benefit checks. Clearly, it would be illegal for Elon Musk or Donald Trump to cut someone’s Social Security benefits like this without a new law from Congress. They know they don’t have the votes in Congress to cut Social Security — so this is a backdoor method they’re using instead. I’m fighting back by launching the Social Security War Room along with my colleagues Sen. Wyden, Sen. Kelly, and Sen. Warnock to dedicate resources towards exposing this scheme and stopping these attacks. I’m standing with my colleagues to say: Trump and Elon, get your hands off our Social Security.
Let’s be clear here: Social Security is not charity, it’s not some giveaway. It’s something that people earned by paying into it for all of their working years. It’s a sacred promise that if you work hard and pay into the system, you are legally entitled to Social Security benefits when you retire. Trump and Musk are breaking that promise. DOGE is firing Social Security workers, seizing control of our payment system, closing offices, and pulling the plug on phone services. Americans are being falsely marked as dead in the Social Security system. People who are very much alive and have bills to pay are forced to go through a months-long, headache-inducing process to get things sorted out. Musk himself recently called Social Security a “Ponzi Scheme.” Mind you, this is coming from a man who rakes in $8 million a day from the federal government, while the average American on Social Security receives $65 a day. Now, why might they be looking for indirect ways to cut Social Security benefits and make it harder for Americans to receive their checks? It’s so — you guessed it — they can use the money you paid into Social Security to fund tax cuts for billionaires and billionaire corporations. These attacks on Social Security are hurting people. And I’m not having this. I’ll continue to closely monitor what’s happening with the Social Security Administration. I’ll continue to sound the alarm on what Trump and Musk are hoping we don’t notice about their backdoor scheme. And our War Room will monitor wait times at Social Security Administration offices, and visit offices to report on the impacts of these cuts. The most important way you can help fight back is by sharing your story about how Social Security has impacted you and your family. Are you experiencing any issues with your benefits right now? Has access to Social Security benefits made a tangible impact in your life? My team wants to hear from you. Please click here and share your story about Social Security. While Trump and Musk keep telling lies about this critical program, we’re going to fight back with the truth. Thanks for being a part of this, Elizabeth  | 
