SCHUMER: ON TAX DAY, MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE EVEN MORE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY; CITING SIN-AFTER-SIN CUTS TO THE SAFETY NET OF SENIORS, SENATOR SAYS SOCIAL SECURITY ADMIN ACTING COMMISSIONER LELAND DUDEK MUST RESIGN
Schumer Says Dudek, Hand-Picked By DOGE, Has Been Dismantling Social Security & Its Operations: Granting DOGE Access To Data Systems & Deeply Personal Info Without Adequate Vetting, Laying Off 7,000 Staff While Closing Critical Offices, Including Ones In NY & Other Sins Against Seniors’ Social Security
Schumer Says These Decisions Have Caused Massive Service Disruptions Like A Crashed Website, Jammed Phone Lines, Hours Of Waiting & More; Dudek Is Unfit & Enough Is Enough
Schumer: The Man Chosen To Oversee The Senior Safety Net Of Social Security Is Instead Weaving A Web Of Worry For Americans Who EARNED Their Social Security Benefits
On Tax Day, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said millions of Americans (And New Yorkers) are even more worried about the future of Social Security and the disgraceful undermining of the Social Security Administration led by Leland Dudek, the acting Commissioner. From chaos to long waits, Schumer said sin-after-sin cuts not only hurt seniors, but they risk dangerous outcomes to health and wellness for those who most depend on their earned payments for day-to-day life.
“You don’t need to scratch your head and wonder what’s going on when you see that the Trump administration is decimating Social Security offices and staff. And you don’t need to ponder what might happen next when Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, says that the earned benefits that tens-of-millions of seniors, families, and children depend on are some scam—because that’s a real threat and a real promise: they are coming for your Social Security,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.
“And now those two, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, have a hatchet man in Leland Dudek, an acting Commissioner with an emphasis on the ‘acting,’ because his real role is to dismantle the very office he is supposed to lead, make better, and protect. We have seen his audition and his work on the stage, and it is clear: Dudek is incapable of doing this job in the way it needs to be done. He won’t protect seniors. He will hurt them. Leland Dudek should resign,” Schumer added.
Schumer announced that the Social Security Administration’s Acting Commissioner—Leland Dudek—must resign. Schumer said, Dudek, hand-picked by DOGE, has been dismantling Social Security (SS) from day one, and that he has brainlessly laid off 7,000 staff with plans to lay off even more. Schumer said Dudek is targeting field offices for closure, plans to close 6 out of 10 regional offices, and has granted Elon Musk and DOGE access to Americans’ deeply sensitive personal information. Schumer said these unfit actions have created massive service disruptions (crashed website, jammed phone lines, and multi-hour waits at field offices) and that Dudek has made it clear his priority is pleasing Trump, not ensuring Americans’ get their earned benefits. Schumer called on Dudek to resign as he warns what might happen next with Dudek unchecked at the helm of Social Security.
Schumer also explained, Dudek has no executive experience and had previously been put on administrative leave pending an investigation into his sharing sensitive information with DOGE. Schumer reiterated, DOGE’s ability to gain access to Social Security’s data, which contains reams of personal information on hundreds of millions of Americans, has caused real concern among experts and consumer advocates.
Schumer explained that New Yorkers and Long Islanders, as well as tens-of-millions of Americans, who depend on Social Security are in serious trouble. Schumer vowed to fight the effort to decimate Social Security offices, including locations in New York, with everything he’s got.
Social Security sends over $126 billion to more than 73 million retired and disabled beneficiaries every month, Schumer explained. At least 7,000 workers were fired with the administration’s chainsaw. Across New York City and Long Island, the Social Security field offices offer a full range of Social Security services, including applying for new or replacement Social Security cards, applying for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits, making changes to your benefits information and more. Now some of those offices could permanently close, and it’s because Leland Dudek would allow it.
“Leland Dudek personifies the shoulder shrug,” said Schumer. “This is not a person who is in their job to make things better, or carry the weight. This is a person who just does not care about the people he is supposed to serve—seniors. Dudek cares about two things, and two things only: Donald Trump and Elon Musk. He has got to go.”
Social Security has been a crucial piece of the social safety net since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the law creating it in 1935, and it was designed to be self-sufficient. It has a dedicated revenue source from payroll taxes, which workers split with their employers, the New York Times noted.
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