"According to The Washington Post, which spoke to dozens of employees within the agency and customers affected by the Trump administration's actions, as many as 6 million pending cases are backlogged in processing centers, and 12 million transactions are backed up in field offices across the country. These backlogs are due to the agency's diminished workforce - a result of the so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) taking control of the agency under President Donald Trump earlier this year."
"The DOGE takeover led to around 7,000 employees being "squeezed out" of SSA, the Post reported, either by layoffs or because they chose to quit voluntarily. Behind the scenes, many SSA employees were moved from one department to another as restructuring took place, often resulting in workers taking a position for which they had little training. Indeed, a majority of SSA staffers who have accepted reassignments in the post-DOGE takeover have not been properly trained for their new roles,"
Social Security beneficiaries experienced significant service delays and processing backlogs after 2025 reforms. Processing centers accumulated about 6 million pending cases and field offices faced about 12 million backed-up transactions. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) takeover reduced the agency workforce by roughly 7,000 employees through layoffs and voluntary departures. Restructuring moved many employees into unfamiliar roles without adequate training, and a majority of reassigned staff lacked proper preparation for new duties. Understaffed field offices and overwhelmed phone lines compounded access problems for beneficiaries seeking assistance. Efforts to root out alleged fraud coincided with and contributed to operational disruption.
Read at Truthout
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