WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), is releasing the following statement in response to a decision made by the Trump Administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to close dozens of Social Security offices across the country — a move following the February dismissal of 7,000 Social Security Administration (SSA) employees and one that could result in delayed or missing checks for the over 70 million Americans that rely on Social Security. The statement comes after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik, a billionaire, insisted during an interview that only ‘fraudsters’ would complain about missed Social Security checks, not honest Americans.   

“The Trump Administration’s callous indifference to the millions of Americans who rely on the monthly Social Security checks they have earned - and the millions more Americans who are relying on Social Security for their planned retirements — is the most direct assault on this vital program in its almost 100 year history. It is disrespectful, destructive, and dangerous,

 “These payments have been penciled onto every page of Americans’ calendars for generations. These checks signify promises kept to millions of our family members and friendly neighbors when they reach into their mailbox every month. Household budgets rely on the timely arrival of these earnings to pay for mortgages, heat, and medications.

 “When the Trump White House and its corporate-suite cabinet sends reckless DOGE computer engineers into the Social Security networks, threaten cuts to the committed workforce who carefully manage this system, make it harder for citizens to interact with that workforce, or scoff at older Americans justifiably worried about late payments — as one of his billionaire cabinet members did just this week — this dismissive public stance frightens the very people who literally built this country, and who deserve a hell of a lot better.

 “Social Security is not social media; this ‘move fast and break things’ approach they seem to be following is a betrayal of the public trust.

 “The President has said repeatedly, during the campaign and since, that he would protect Social Security — but what’s happening now in his name is anything but protection, and he should put a stop to it.”

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