Comment: Trump, Musk blunder into Social Security minefield

By Martin Schram / Tribune News Service

President Trump was about to be blindsided. Yet he seemed clueless that a Social Security political bombshell was about to be detonated from within; one perhaps powerful enough to shatter the trust of many of his MAGA faithful.

But then, just in the nick of time, a most unlikely and unexpected rescuer appeared on March 12. And for a while, it seemed Trump was heeding the warning of his unlikely rescuer; and would prevent his presidency from plunging itself into a devastating political firestorm ignited unwittingly by his new best billionaire pal, Elon Musk.

But that too was not to be. Because what we were about to witness was a classic example of how nothing is simple or orderly in this chaotic, crisis-riddled first 100 days of Trump’s 2.0 presidency. And so Trump’s yes-no-maybe Presidency 2.0 was not about to remain stable long enough to allow its leader to remain comfortably rescued.

Here’s the full story, as reported by your investigative pundit at the always-busy intersection of the policy, politics and the news media.

For weeks, we have been covering the dramatics in which Trump has allowed his pal Musk to be recklessly chainsawing and down-servicing our federal government. Trump voters in red states have seemed to be suffering most from massive cuts that didn’t seem likely to Make America Great Again.

All Americans paid into the Social Security all their working lives, expecting their government to make it easy for them to receive the benefits they’d earned. But then Trump and Musk kept repeating claims both men knew were false: that Social Security is paying benefits to people listed at 150 years old and older. Musk repeatedly called Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”

Now this: On March 12, at 12:04 p.m., EDT, Washington and the nation were stunned by an online scoop from The Washington Post. Headline: “Social Security, facing pressure from DOGE, weighs big cuts to phone service.” Subhead: “Agency considers ending phone program that helps with claims processing and is used by millions of elderly and disabled Americans.”

Trump’s DOGE Musketeers were reportedly considering scrapping the free phone service that 73 million Americans have long used to access the benefits they are owed. Musk’s DOGE computer whiz kids wanted to require the elderly to deal with Social Security identification online or at regional centers. But millions cannot access online services or have trouble navigating online. And many cannot get to regional centers. The phone line is their lifeline.

Phone lines of senators and representatives erupted minutes after the Washington Post scoop appeared. Members of Congress and others warned Trump’s White House they’d be committing political suicide. Trump’s inner circle — suddenly alerted — got it, bigtime. What the hell was this really about? DOGE’s Musketeers had discovered 40 percent of Social Security’s actual direct-deposit fraud comes when beneficiaries use telephones to change their direct-deposit routing numbers.

Team Trump quickly got it and reversed the huge plan to scrap free phone help for seniors; except for the one narrow purpose of providing direct-deposit banking information. Within hours, Trump’s Social Security officials issued an announcement of a common-sense change: Social Security “will no longer process changes to direct-deposit routing numbers over the phone,” Reuters reported, “but its other telephone services would remain unchanged.”

That initial leak to the Washington Post ended up giving Trump’s discombobulated White House time to rethink, recombobulate; and rescue its president from suffering the consequences of worst instincts of Musk and his team.

But … oh no, Mister Donald! Team Trump ended up allowing itself just one day of rescued common-sense comfort. The day after that Washington Post scoop erupted online and Social Security officials responded by announcing there would only be a narrowly limited ban on processing direct deposit info by phone, a highly placed official wrote a memo outlining yet another extensive plan to cut other telephone help services used by elderly beneficiaries.

Of course, that March 13 memo also leaked. It was reported on March 17, in an online newsletter named Popular Information; and was quickly confirmed by Axios and The Washington Post. The memo estimated that 75,000 to 85,000 customers per week would have to somehow go to Social Security’s local field offices to provide basic information. It conceded that effort would mean “increased challenges for vulnerable populations” and “longer wait times and processing time.” Also, all that would be made much more difficult because Musk’s team was proposing to close many field offices and cut personnel. On Thursday, Social Security announced that the memo’s proposal was now official policy. It just became much harder for the elderly and disabled to get their entitled benefits.

And so it goes. In Trump’s Presidency 2.0, the right hand doesn’t seem to know what the far-right hand is doing.

Martin Schram, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, is a veteran Washington journalist, author and TV documentary executive. Email him at martin.schram@gmail.com. ©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.