Warren Presses Social Security Head on Broken Staffing Promises
Sen. Warren secured commitment under oath from SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano to maintain sufficient staffing levels to avoid service, benefit disruptions
Recent reporting revealed SSA unable to get recipients on time due to inadequate staffing levels
“I asked you during your nomination hearing to commit to keeping enough SSA staff to ensure that Americans get their Social Security checks, and that they get them on time. You made this commitment, and I promised I would hold you to it.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano, pressing him on his broken promises to keep Social Security staffing levels to adequately serve Americans. During Bisignano’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Warren secured a commitment from him to maintain sufficient staffing levels such that Americans’ Social Security services and benefits are not disrupted. New reporting indicates that — just two weeks into the job — Bisignano is failing to uphold his promise.
“Commissioner, you ‘commit(ed) to have the right staffing to get the job done,’ but it is already becoming clear that current staffing levels are not, in fact, getting the job done. Staff shortages mean longer waits, more mistakes, and more instances in which hard-working Americans wait for weeks or months to get the benefits to which they are entitled. As a practical matter, this is a benefits cut,” wrote Senator Warren.
Since the start of his administration, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE have worked to dismantle the Social Security Administration — including closing offices, reducing phone services, and making website changes that have led to recurring service outages. In February, SSA announced plans to cut roughly 7,000 employees — nearly 12% of SSA’s total workforce. Other reports indicate that SSA considered cutting up to 50% of staff.
“In light of these developments, I asked you during your nomination hearing to commit to keeping enough SSA staff to ensure that Americans get their Social Security checks, and that they get them on time. You made this commitment, and I promised I would hold you to it,” wrote Senator Warren.
Just two weeks into Bisignano’s tenure as head of Social Security, SSA has a massive backlog of benefit claims. A recent email from SSA leadership to all operations department employees noted that there are nearly 575,000 pending claims, with a growing backlog. Roughly 140,000 of those claims are over 60 days old, and recently obtained internal documents reported that DOGE had slowed benefit claim processing by 25%. SSA leadership directed employees tasked with reviewing these claims — already overworked as a result of DOGE’s mass firings — to “sprint” to increase their pace by 10%.
“SSA is already struggling to get Americans their benefits, and I am concerned that these staffing cuts are just the beginning,” wrote Senator Warren. “Just a few weeks ago, then-Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek instructed staff to remove civil service protections for thousands of frontline SSA employees, laying the groundwork for further layoffs and staffing cuts. This includes employees who review benefit claims—the same ones who have since been asked to “sprint” to make up for staffing shortages.”
In a recent unscripted speech to SSA staffers, Bisignano entertained further layoffs: “If I wake up and find out we can do all our work with 20,000 people — which I can’t see that right now — we’ll be 20,000…”.
Senator Warren led the launch of Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room, a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.
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