President-elect Donald Trump has sworn he will not extract a single cent from Social Security, yet his other proclamations and activities insinuate that he intends to do just that. Elon Musk, the Chief Executive Officer of Tesla and Co-President of the freshly initiated Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was seen shouldering his little boy ‘X’ on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.
Trump sought to alleviate concerns about potential reductions to Social Security and other public assistance schemes on a Sunday. There was rising apprehension following indications from Republicans in the prior week that Social Security might fall under the purview of Trump’s DOGE initiative. The initiative is spearheaded by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
In light of questions regarding whether DOGE’s agenda would entail Social Security cost reductions, Trump firmly responded in the negative. He added that the only prospective cuts might be those connected to allegations of misconduct or fraud concerning the program. Importantly, he noted that the frequency at which such fraudulent actions occur is extremely low.
Attempts to meddle with Social Security are not on our agenda. We might streamline its functioning, though,” Trump said, referring to the nationwide insurance program aimed at assisting retired personnel, disabled individuals, single-parent children and widowed people. In his words, “Recipients will continue to receive what they are entitled to.”
He further reassured that there won’t be any changes concerning age criterion and related factors. Trump’s remarks appear to be a repeat of his ‘Agenda 47’ blueprint previously outlined during his presidential campaign. The agenda explicitly stated that he is inclined to ‘preserve every single penny of Medicare or Social Security’.
However, his previous statements and actions of his allies have frequently hinted at the possibility of slashing budgets for both these programs. Both Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have given indications that Social Security cost reductions are open to consideration.
When Musk and Ramaswamy met with Republican representatives on Capitol Hill recently to deliberate over the DOGE initiative, Rep. Steve Scalise, the current House majority leader, suggested that their thoughts seemed to oppose Trump’s Sunday assurances. He stated, “They have decided to lay all options on the table. Nothing is beyond review.”
Going back to September, during the inception of DOGE, vice president-elect J.D. Vance seemed to hint there would be budget cuts for Social Security. “The operations of DOGE will vary for different departments, for instance, the Department of Defense and Social Security,” Vance mentioned during an interview for a podcast, implying that Social Security would likely experience cutbacks.
As far back as March, Trump himself admitted that he was contemplating cost reductions for the program. Talking about entitlement programs, Trump mentioned, “Plethora of options exist for cutting back on surplus entitlements. Simultaneously, we can address issues like theft and mismanagement of these entitlements.” This statement was a stark contrast to his weekend comments.
Perhaps the most revelatory of all events was Trump’s past attempts during his inaugural presidential term to drastically curtail budgets for Social Security and other assistance programs. At a point during his first term, he sought a budget reduction for Social Security by a whopping $25 billion, despite having assured during the 2016 presidential election cycle, just like the most recent one, that he won’t slash any funds from the program.
Polls consistently indicate that Social Security holds immense popularity among the mass and most voters would resist any potential cuts to the system. As an example, a survey conducted by AP/NORC in 2023 discovered that almost 80% voters are against diminishing benefits to the program for addressing potential funding issues. Majority of the voters instead preferred higher contributions from affluent Americans towards Social Security.