News Coverage
SEN ELIZABETH WARREN: Social Security is under attack. Gutting it is a broken promise
Gutting Social Security isn’t "efficient" — it’s a broken promise. Democrats and Republicans should stand up and fight back to protect it. Social Security is not charity. Americans pay in, paycheck after paycheck, over a lifetime of hard work. When they get older, they get that money back to help them retire. That’s the iron-clad, take-it-to-the-bank promise that America makes to workers. But right now, Social Security is under attack like it has never been before. Billionaire Commerce … Continue Reading
April 14, 2025
Democratic senators press Social Security Administration on reports of ‘dangerous’ employee cuts
Several Democratic senators are demanding answers from the Social Security Administration following reports that the agency may make staff cuts to a significant department within the agency. The Social Security Administration is reportedly considering additional workforce reductions, including a potential 50% cut in the Office of the Chief Investment Officer. The department, otherwise known as OCIO, is responsible for protecting sensitive data, maintaining benefit claims processing systems, … Continue Reading
April 14, 2025
ABC News: Democrat-sponsored bill seeks ethics checks on special government employees like Elon Musk
A new legislative push led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., is seeking to bar special government employees like tech billionaire and senior Trump adviser Elon Musk from communicating with government agencies that interface with their companies, and would require federal employees like Musk to meet new ethics requirements. Warren and Stansbury introduced a bill this week in the Senate and House, respectively, that would prevent special government employees … Continue Reading
April 11, 2025
The New Yorker: Elizabeth Warren Is Trying to Stop “The Dumbest Financial Crisis Ever”
When I caught up with Elizabeth Warren, the senior Democratic senator from Massachusetts, by telephone on Wednesday evening, it seemed like she didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. Hours earlier, Donald Trump had caved to pressure from the financial markets and announced, via social media, a ninety-day pause on many of his tariffs. On Wall Street, stocks shot up. Later in the afternoon, Warren, who sits on the Senate finance and banking committees, had spoken from the floor of the upper … Continue Reading
April 10, 2025
NBC News: Drastic staffing cuts at the Education Department to be reviewed
The Education Department’s Office of Inspector General plans to conduct a “series of reviews” into the recent mass layoffs at the department, according to a letter obtained by NBC News. The Trump administration has sought to dismantle the Education Department, which President Donald Trump has long wanted to do but cannot fully achieve without congressional approval. That has not stopped him from trying. In March, Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon … Continue Reading
April 10, 2025
Anxiety grows in Mass. over Social Security staff cuts, errors, long wait times
President Trump’s promises that Social Security benefits will not be cut are providing little reassurance to Massachusetts residents, advocates and employees who are witnessing changes to the program firsthand. The Trump administration has slashed the nearly 90-year-old agency’s workforce as part of an effort to downsize the federal government. Though no cuts have been made to individual benefits, service delays and staffing reductions are creating anxiety for people across the state. WBUR … Continue Reading
April 10, 2025
Scoop: Top Senate Dems propose emergency Social Security payment boost
Top Senate Democrats plan to unveil legislation that would provide an emergency $200 monthly increase in Social Security benefits through the end of the year, Axios has learned. Why it matters: It's the party's latest effort to highlight the Trump administration's tariff policies and now-scrapped DOGE-driven plans for service reductions to the popular benefits program. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will introduce the Social Security … Continue Reading
April 10, 2025
Bloomberg Tax: Warren Seeks More Ethics Commitments from Trump Tax Nominee
President Donald Trump's nominee to oversee federal tax policy should take additional steps to sever his decades of tax lobbying from his next government job, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to him in a letter obtained exclusively by Bloomberg Tax. Warren asked that Kenneth Kies, Trump's pick to be assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury Department, to divest from holdings in companies that lobby the agency, recuse himself during Trump’s entire term from business related to … Continue Reading
April 09, 2025
Warren, two Senate colleagues demand answers on Social Security website problems, agency cuts
After reports of repeated crashes and other problems with the US Social Security Administration’s website last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren and other lawmakers are demanding answers about the disruptions following moves by the Trump administration to downsize the agency and cut workers. In a letter to Acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek on Monday, Warren, along with Democratic Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Ron Wyden of Oregon, said they are concerned the website problems … Continue Reading
April 08, 2025
Social Security wrongly told disabled people and some seniors their benefits ended, causing alarm
The Social Security Administration last week wrongly informed some recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the federal program that provides financial assistance to disabled Americans and low-income senior citizens, that they were no longer receiving benefits. The agency's website informed some SSI recipients they are "currently not receiving payments," according to an April 7 letter from senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Kelly of Arizona to … Continue Reading
April 08, 2025
Reuters: Democratic US senators question Google and Microsoft's AI deals
Two Democratic U.S. senators demanded information from Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Google (GOOGL.O), about their cloud computing partnerships with artificial intelligence companies, expressing concern the arrangements could stifle competition in the cutting-edge industry. U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrats on the Senate banking and finance committees, respectively, asked Google for details, about its partnership with AI startup … Continue Reading
April 08, 2025
Democrats confront SSA about disruptions to constituent SSI accounts
After standing up a Social Security War Room to respond to what some Democrats are calling a “prelude to privatization” at the Social Security Administration, three Senate Democrats are pressing the agency to respond to reports from their constituents that they’ve had problems with online accounts used to manage Supplemental Security Income benefits. “It would be outrageous if the Trump Administration, either due to incompetence or nefarious planning, is already disrupting, or threatening to … Continue Reading
April 07, 2025
USA TODAY: Warren hits Trump nuclear weapons nominee over qualifications, China business ties
On the eve of his confirmation hearing before a Senate panel, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration faces scrutiny from one of the lawmakers he will face Tuesday. Trump's pick, Brandon Williams, is a former Navy submarine officer who served one term as a Republican congressman from New York. During a nearly six-year Navy stint, Williams completed the rigorous Naval Nuclear Power School and served aboard the USS Georgia missile submarine. But … Continue Reading
April 03, 2025
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
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
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