In response to a recent report highlighting the mounting obstacles seniors face to access their Social Security benefits because of Trump’s cuts, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump is engaging in an all-out assault on America’s seniors. He and Elon Musk hollowed out Social Security by making it as hard as possible for millions of seniors to access the benefits they’ve earned. Seniors who spent their lives paying into Social Security are now being repaid with grueling wait times, disconnected calls, and shuttered field offices. At the same time, the Trump-GOP budget is trying to kick seniors off health care and close up their nursing homes so billionaires can reap yet another tax windfall. How low can he go?”

A recent CBPP report shows that Trump’s disastrous cuts to the Social Security Administration are creating insurmountable obstacles for millions of seniors trying to access basic services. 

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “The Trump Administration and DOGE have implemented new phone service restrictions that the Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates will require people to make over 1.93 million additional trips to understaffed Social Security field offices each year. Even without any traffic, these additional trips will lead to over a million hours wasted on unnecessary travel each year.”

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Nationally, assuming no traffic, half of all seniors must drive at least 33 minutes for a field office visit, and nearly a quarter of seniors (13.5 million) live more than an hour’s drive roundtrip from their nearest field office.”

Seniors are already feeling the harmful impacts of these cuts as millions face disruptions to services.

Washington Post: “Long waits, waves of calls, web crashes: Social Security is breaking down” 

“The turmoil is leaving many retirees, disabled claimants and legal immigrants who need Social Security cards with less access or shut out of the system altogether …

“But current and former officials, advocates and others who interact with the agency — many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution — said Social Security has been damaged even further by the rapid cuts and chaos of Trump’s first two months in office. …

“Entire offices, including those handling civil rights and modernization, were driven out. The 10 regional offices that oversee field operations were slashed to four. …

“Depending on the time of day, a recorded message tells callers that their wait on hold will last more than 120 minutes or 180 minutes. Some report being on hold for four or five hours. A callback function was only available three out of 12 times when a reporter for The Post called. …

“A DOGE-imposed spending freeze has left many field offices without paper, pens and the phone headsets staff need to do their jobs communicating with callers — at the exact moment phone calls are spiking.” 

WBUR: “Anxiety grows in Mass. over Social Security staff cuts, errors, long wait times”

“Two individuals who were set to receive benefits on March 26 didn’t receive their checks until April 1, leaving one woman unable to pay her rent on time.” 

Los Angeles Times: “Several other people waited in line, including Camilla Sosa, 68, who said she waited on hold over the phone for about two hours on Friday. …

“An agency employee told her that without an appointment, she would have to wait for three hours.” 

Chicago Sun-Times: “Vallabh Patel’s wife, 62, recently started having trouble walking due to a medical condition. The couple tried to set up Social Security disability payments for her, but they found the bureaucracy too cumbersome and the system too difficult to navigate. Frustrated, they headed to the Evanston office of the Social Security Administration last week, hoping to get her enrolled for payments based on her age. They were greeted by a long line of other people also trying to get help.”