The Washington Post reports that in the wake of Elon Musk-led cuts, the workforce at the Social Security Administration is overwhelmed by clogged phone lines and failing computer systems. “Office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out,” according to the Post. “The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts.”
Republicans are firing Social Security workers and pushing staff to leave en masse.Republicans are shuttering SSA offices across the country.Republicans are jamming up the phone lines and wait times.All of this is just another way of cutting Social Security benefits.
— Senator Patty Murray (@murray.senate.gov) 2025-03-25T18:33:53.447Z
Senator Angus King of Maine described the situation to the Post as “the destruction of the agency from the inside out.”
- Long waits, waves of calls, website crashes: Social Security is breaking down [The Washington Post]
Previously, the “DOGE” team forced the SSA to move toward no longer accepting identity verification by telephone. The move will force citizens who need to verify their identities when applying for checks — or resolving issues with receiving payments — to either use the SSA website or travel to a Social Security field office. This comes days after the announced closure of several field offices — which means, put simply, that the administration has simultaneously required in-office visits and reduced access to its offices.
The changes were expected to cause delays that prevent some Americans from receiving timely checks.
@moreperfectunion This is a costly, inefficient solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. But that’s by design. @Alec ♬ original sound – More Perfect Union
"We are not cutting Social Security" is hard to square with DOGE laying of thousand of Social Security employees, closing Social Security offices, and limiting phone services.
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social) 2025-03-20T03:37:47.337Z
- Social Security to require millions to make claims in person rather than by phone [The Washington Post]