Take it from Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary: The Trump administration is putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block – and they’re “not going to stop.” After already taking steps to gut these hard-earned benefits, Bessent is following Trump and Elon Musk’s lead and saying the quiet part out loud about their reckless agenda to slash these programs that millions of Americans rely on. 

NEW: Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged that the administration is “not going to stop” putting Americans’ hard-earned benefits at risk. 

Chamath Palihapitiya: “Let’s just say that somehow the Borg slows [DOGE] down. You know, what people say is … well, then the only place to look will be things like entitlements. Do you think that that’s true?”

Scott Bessent: “ … This administration is not going to stop.”

REMINDER: Trump’s billionaire backer and shadow president Elon Musk is already gearing up to slash Medicare and Social Security — leaving millions of Americans out in the cold. 

Washington Post: “Social Security Administration leadership is under instruction to swiftly produce plans to cut its staff by half, according to two employees at the agency who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.”

NextGov: “At least five of the eight regional [Social Security Administration] commissioners whose offices oversee and support the agency’s frontline offices across the country are leaving, according to a source familiar with the agency and an SSA employee not authorized to speak on the record. …

“Their departures come amid rumors of impending staff cuts at SSA, where the workforce is already at a 50-year low and has toiled amid a customer service crisis born of lack of funding.”

Prospect: “The decision could target one of the government’s most prominent public-facing initiatives: SSA field offices, where seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors whose parents have died can sign up for benefits and get information.”

ProPublica: “Anxiety Mounts Among Social Security Recipients as DOGE Troops Settle In”

“[T]he DOGE team landed at the Social Security Administration this week, with Musk drawing attention for his outlandish claims that large numbers of 150-year-old ‘vampires’ are receiving Social Security payments. …

“Their first wave of actions — initiating the elimination of 41 jobs and the closing of at least 10 local offices, so far — was largely lost in the rush of headlines.”

And Trump has a record of trying to gut Social Security every year in office – pledging cuts in a second term. 

Washington Post: “Trump proposals could drain Social Security in 6 years, budget group says”

Vox: “Trump said he wouldn’t cut Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. His 2020 budget cuts all 3.”

Washington Post: “Each of [Trump’s] White House budget proposals included cuts to Social Security and Medicare programs.”

Mediaite: “During a Fox News town hall, President Donald Trump promised to cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security if he were to win a second term. … ‘But if you don’t cut something in entitlements, you will never really deal with the debt,’ town hall co-moderator Martha MacCallum interjected, alluding to social safety programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. ‘Oh, we’ll be cutting,’ Trump rushed to confirm.”

On his first day in office, Trump immediately rescinded the Biden-Harris order to lower drug costs, targeting Medicare recipients across the country.  

White House: “The following executive actions are hereby revoked: …

“Executive Order 14087 of October 14, 2022 (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans).”

Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services: “President Biden issued Executive Order (EO) 14087, ‘Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans,’ to further address prescription drug affordability through the work of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (the Innovation Center). The Innovation Center tests innovative payment and service delivery models designed to reduce program expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care furnished to its beneficiaries.”

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