News Coverage
The cost of Social Security cuts
SOCIAL INSECURITY — After launching a Social Security “war room” earlier this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is running the numbers on how cuts to the financial assistance program for seniors could impact the Bay State. According to data compiled by Warren’s office and shared with Playbook, nearly 1.5 million Massachusetts residents rely on Social Security. The numbers, broken down by county, show that Massachusetts takes in more than $2.5 billion in monthly benefits from the program. The … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
Politico Massachusetts Playbook: The cost of Social Security cuts
SOCIAL INSECURITY — After launching a Social Security “war room” earlier this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is running the numbers on how cuts to the financial assistance program for seniors could impact the Bay State. According to data compiled by Warren’s office and shared with Playbook, nearly 1.5 million Massachusetts residents rely on Social Security. The numbers, broken down by county, show that Massachusetts takes in more than $2.5 billion in monthly benefits from the program. The … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
Senator Raises Alarm Over People Not Receiving Social Security
enator Elizabeth Warren has said people in Massachusetts have been marked as not receiving Social Security benefits as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) investigations continue at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Why It Matters Some 70 million Americans receive benefits from the SSA every month. But recent actions by DOGE, which is headed by tech billionaire and White House adviser Elon Musk, have prompted warnings that benefits may be interrupted. What To … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
Bloomberg Tax: Warren Presses Bessent to Remove Himself From IRS Worker Moves
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s maneuvers to avoid higher tax bills are grounds for recusal from hiring and layoff decisions at the IRS, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in a new letter to Bessent. The letter sent Wednesday, obtained by Bloomberg Tax, argues that Bessent should recuse himself from workforce decisions, and pay the extra tax to offset the legal method he used that allowed him to make lower contributions to Medicare and state jurisdictions. “I ask that you take steps to … Continue Reading
April 02, 2025
Social Security 'War Room' Announced To Fight Donald Trump
Democratic senators on Tuesday announced a "war room" to fight changes at the Social Security Administration (SSA). The initiative, spearheaded by Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon, is a direct response to sweeping changes imposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an administrative body created by President Donald Trump and overseen by Elon Musk. The "war room" will serve as a central effort to lobby against efforts to change Social Security, … Continue Reading
April 02, 2025
The Hill: Senate Democrats open investigation into reports AI could replace contract workers at Education Department
Senate Democrats are opening an investigation into reports that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is attempting to replace some contract workers at the Education Department with artificial intelligence (AI). Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), sent a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon after The New York Times reported call centers that take questions from students and … Continue Reading
April 01, 2025
The Hill: Democratic senators call for investigation into assisted living facilities in Medicaid
Senate Democrats are calling on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a new review of how oversight is conducted over assisted living facilities that participate in Medicaid following a 2018 report that uncovered a stark lack of transparency and reporting across states. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) wrote to the GAO, asking that the office provide an update to a 2018 report in which it found that federal oversight of … Continue Reading
April 01, 2025
Axios: First look: Warren outlines plan for revamping MA
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a group of Democratic senators are laying out a four-step plan to crack down on Medicare Advantage overpayments and make other changes to improve the program. Why it matters: CMS administrator nominee Mehmet Oz has supported the MA program but during his confirmation hearing criticized some insurer practices, such as categorizing patients as sicker to get higher payments. What's inside: The plan is described in a letter shared first with Axios that's signed by … Continue Reading
April 01, 2025
Social Security mayhem: A ‘war room’ to fight changes, a delayed confirmation vote and disrupted online access
Democratic senators on Tuesday announced a “war room” to fight against changes at the Social Security Administration as beneficiaries complained of website outages in accessing the agency’s online services. Led by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon, the “war room” will serve as a central effort to lobby against efforts to change Social Security, visit field offices, hold town halls, share Social Security beneficiaries’ stories and relay information on social … Continue Reading
March 31, 2025
Scoop: Senate Dems to launch Social Security war room
Senate Democrats will launch a war room Tuesday dedicated to fighting back against the Department of Government Efficiency's cuts to Social Security, Axios has learned. Why it matters: The White House is planning service cuts to Social Security that current and former officials warn would break an already strained system. The war room will serve as a central hub for Senate Democrats to plan messaging, create content, provide oversight, make field visits and host town halls to pummel the … Continue Reading
March 31, 2025
Axios: Scoop: Senate Dems to launch Social Security war room
Senate Democrats will launch a war room Tuesday dedicated to fighting back against the Department of Government Efficiency's cuts to Social Security, Axios has learned. Why it matters: The White House is planning service cuts to Social Security that current and former officials warn would break an already strained system. The war room will serve as a central hub for Senate Democrats to plan messaging, create content, provide oversight, make field visits and host town halls to pummel the … Continue Reading
March 28, 2025
Wall Street Journal: Democrats Fear Trump’s Crypto Entity Will Pose Regulatory Conflict
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and four other Democrats warned U.S. financial regulators they might soon confront “an extraordinary conflict of interest”: overseeing a cryptocurrency entity controlled by the sitting U.S. president and his family. In a letter sent early Friday to the Federal Reserve’s vice chair of bank supervision, Michelle Bowman, and the acting comptroller of the currency, Rodney Hood, the senators pressed for answers on how they intend to regulate World Liberty Financial, the … Continue Reading
March 27, 2025
Axios: Dem lawmakers push Trump on FTC firings
Democrats wrote to President Trump on Thursday urging that he abandon the effort to get rid of the two Democratic members of the FTC, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter. Why it matters: The congressional support comes as the two fired commissioners kick off their legal fight to reclaim their jobs. Bedoya and Slaughter filed suit against the Trump administration in D.C. District Court Thursday, calling their firings illegal per a 1935 Supreme Court case, Humphrey's Executor. What … Continue Reading
March 26, 2025
NBC News: Democratic senators want an investigation into Trump's Education Department cuts
Eleven Democratic senators sent a letter Thursday demanding an investigation into the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Education Department, warning the cuts could have “disastrous consequences.” The letter, sent to the department’s acting inspector general, René Rocque, comes amid upheaval at U.S. agencies as President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk embark on a frenetic spree to slash government spending. Trump has long wanted to eliminate the Education … Continue Reading
March 26, 2025
Yahoo Finance: Warren asks Lutnick how Trump will stop tariff-driven price hikes
Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter Tuesday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urging him to explain how the Trump administration plans to prevent companies from using tariffs as a cover to hike prices. "Tariffs can be a strategic tool to grow American industry and good manufacturing jobs, but President Trump’s across-the-board tariffs have been chaotic, not strategic," the Democratic lawmaker wrote in the letter reviewed by Yahoo Finance. "I am deeply concerned that President Trump is now … Continue Reading
March 24, 2025
CNBC: Senators press Trump Social Security nominee on his views about privatizing the agency
Two Democratic senators — Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon — sent a letter Monday to Frank Bisignano, the nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, to ask whether he supports privatizing the agency and if he would be willing to undo recent changes. Bisignano, who is the chief executive officer of payments technology company Fiserv , has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as commissioner of the SSA. Bisignano’s Senate confirmation hearing is … Continue Reading
March 24, 2025
USA TODAY: Government agency to review health and safety effects of Trump's mass firings
An independent government watchdog agency will probe how President Donald Trump's mass firings of early-tenure employees affect air travel, the spread of diseases, nuclear safety, food safety, veterans health care, the opioid epidemic, and the ability to respond to floods and wildfires. The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan watchdog agency that investigates, audits, and evaluates government operations for Congress, said it would open the investigation in response to a March 6 … Continue Reading
March 24, 2025
Mass Live: ‘Prelude to privatization?’: Mass. Sen. Warren seeks answers on Trump’s plans for Social Security
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants President Donald Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Social Security Administration to come clean about the Republican White House’s plans for an agency that touches the lives of millions of Americans. Frank Bisignano, the banker and financial technology executive tapped to lead the agency, is set to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Ahead of that appearance, Warren, D-Mass., and the panel’s ranking Democrat, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, are … Continue Reading
March 24, 2025
Military.com: As Pentagon's Top Health Nominee Prepares for Confirmation Hearing, One Senator Has a Lot of Questions
Ahead of his confirmation hearing Thursday to become assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, Keith Bass is facing tough questions from a prominent Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Bass, a retired Navy commander and substance abuse counselor who previously led the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Medical Services and the White House Medical Unit, was nominated Dec. 22 to manage the Defense Department's $61 billion health system, which serves 9.5 million … Continue Reading
March 21, 2025
NBC News: Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth demand answers about Musk's Pentagon meeting
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., are demanding information from the Defense Department about Elon Musk's meeting this morning at the Pentagon. "Did the Pentagon today provide Mr. Musk with a top-secret briefing today on U.S. war plans for China?" Warren and Duckworth asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a letter obtained exclusively by NBC News. They sought additional details about the briefing, including whether the Pentagon changed its original plans for the … Continue Reading