Durbin Slams Trump Administration's Cuts To Social Security Administration As Trump, Musk Call Beneficiaries "Parasites"
In his remarks, Durbin admonished the Trump Administration for spreading misinformation about fraud within the Social Security Administration
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor admonishing the Trump Administration for its assault on Social Security, a program that millions of Americans rely on. During his remarks, Durbin pushed back against President Trump and Elon Musk’s claims that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is riddled with frauded.
“He [President Trump] delivered this address to the Joint Session of Congress and the American people, the one time each year we’re focused on the President’s words, and he made these deliberate misrepresentations of the Social Security Administration. He claimed that the unelected billionaire Elon Musk and his DOGE boys had identified ‘shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud’ within Social Security. Mr. Musk then claimed, at a later point, that tens of millions of dead people over the age of 100 are still receiving Social Security benefits. [That’s] outrageous and untrue,” Durbin began.
In his Joint Address, President Trump claimed that a 360-year-old was receiving Social Security benefits. The Washington Post investigated President Trump’s nonsensical claims by obtaining internal records from SSA. The investigation, which found that only 1,300 Americans over the age of 100 were receiving benefits, debunked the Trump Administration’s claims that “tens of millions of dead people over the age of 100” were cashing in on Social Security benefits.
“The truth is you’d be hard-pressed to find another agency that is more closely scrutinized than Social Security. It routinely audits benefit payments to make sure they’re accurate. The Office of Inspector General conducted a report in 2024 which found that less than one percent of Social Security payments were improper. Less than one percent. President Trump’s statement made it seem like Social Security is riddled with fraud and incompetence. Payments to a 360-year-old individual? Outrageous, untrue,” Durbin continued.
Durbin argued that President Trump and Elon Musk are attacking SSA as a means to justify the Administration’s destruction of the federal workforce and agencies.
“I believe President Trump and Mr. Musk are intentionally misrepresenting the challenges Social Security faces as the rationale to implement their harmful policies. The Trump Administration’s disdain for Social Security is clear. Elon Musk, the President’s unelected buddy, describes Social Security [as] ‘the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time…’ And [Musk] shared a post on Twitter that called those who benefit from federal programs, get ready, ‘the parasite class,’” Durbin continued.
“Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick called Americans who were calling in to report missing Social Security benefits ‘fraudsters.’ The same billionaire, Mr. Lutnick, bragged that his mother-in-law wouldn’t care if she didn’t receive a monthly check from Social Security,” said Durbin. “Well perhaps, if your son-in-law is a billionaire, you don’t care.”
“These comments are not only wrong and misleading, they are sickening, sickening. These people work their whole lives paying into Social Security with the promise it will take care of them when they decided to retire. Now, the question is raised whether they are ‘parasites’ throughout their lives,” Durbin said.
Durbin then spoke about the Trump Administration’s recent actions to harm the Social Security Administration’s operations by slashing its workforce, announcing plans to terminate 7,000 workers, 12 percent of the workforce at SSA. The Trump Administration also plans to limit phone services despite constituents already reporting that they must wait several hours to have their call answered. Further, the Administration has announced that it will close some Social Security offices across the country, including in Illinois.
“I ran into an individual in a coffee shop in Springfield, [Illinois], a few weeks ago. He’s retired now, and he said, ‘Senator, it was smarter for me to get in the car and drive 40 minutes each way to Litchfield, Illinois, to the Social Security office, rather than wait in line for hours at the Springfield office. Each of the actions taken by the Trump Administration has made it more difficult forseniors and people with disabilities to access their benefits. Americans are worried, some even terrified, questioning whether or not they will continue to have access to earned benefits and essential services,” Durbin said.
Durbin concluded his remarks by emphasizing that Social Security is an earned benefit that Americans pay into, not a handout, contrary to President Trump’s claims.
“Americans depend on Social Security and its workers to pick up the phone, answer the questions, and help them secure their benefits. Social Security is a bedrock of American society. It is a promise. All of us contribute to it, expecting it will be there when we need,” Durbin said. “For too long we’ve asked the Social Security Administration to do more with less, and now President Trump has taken that to an extreme. I’m calling on him to abandon these plans.”
“If you actually want to make Social Security more efficient, it needs more well-trained people, more resources, more funding. We do not need the recent college graduates in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency taking Social Security for a joyride while their grandparents are in the back holding on for dear life,” Durbin said. “We certainly don’t need the sage advice of billionaires who cannot begin to understand what it means to live month-to-month waiting for your Social Security check as so many Americans do.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
-30-