Lisa Ryan
Appearances
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
I think the field staff is extremely anxious and some of them are also extremely angry because, you know, they're trying to do their jobs. These are not high paying jobs. And what's happened is that an acting commissioner appointed by Donald Trump has come in and working with Elon Musk's Doge team has moved really swiftly to downsize this agency. And he wants to get rid of 7,000 employees.
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
That's about a little over 12%. And he's well on his way to doing this. And they've offered early retirement packages, buyouts. Some people have been fired. Others have just quit because they're so frustrated. And this field staff, you know, they take these jobs. These are not easy jobs.
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
And yet, you know, one by one, the field offices and the call centers that handle this really deteriorating phone service on the 800 line are just, you know, they're really eroding. And it's just got to be frustrating, of course, for the staff and also for all the retirees and disabled people who are trying to get service.
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
I think that's fair. And I think, you know, we really don't know kind of what the end game is here. The nominee, President Trump's nominee to run Social Security, had a hearing today before the Senate Finance Committee. And, you know, there was a bipartisan group of senators who asked him,
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
look, you know, you really need to address customer service issues and you need to figure out, you know, how many cuts to the staff and to service are really acceptable because otherwise this agency is going to grind to a halt. And he said he would address that. These issues he talked about using artificial intelligence.
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
He said, well, you know, maybe we we do need to reconsider some of these cuts. But for now, you know, it's not just the staff cuts, though, Rachel. It's also policy changes that the acting commissioner. in charge has made. And this is all in the name of fraud, fighting fraud. And there's a real obsession of Elon Musk and his team that fraud is a huge issue at Social Security.
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
And, you know, there is fraud. There's fraud in every federal program, and this is a really big one. So the fraud estimates seem really high in comparison, you know, but when you think about the actual spending on benefits, It's not that considerable, less than 1 percent.
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
But in the name of reducing fraud, what the Trump official who's in charge is now doing is, you know, he's actually made it harder for a variety of people, largely people who can't use computers, to actually do things like verify their identity or make direct deposits. it's all this now has can't be done by phone, but it has to be done by going to a field office if you can't do it online.
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
But, you know, as we've just talked about, the field offices are just fraying. So this is sort of a weird, you know, kind of cycle of doom that is now going on. I don't know how it's going to end.
The Rachel Maddow Show
War plans group chat scandal fits pattern of Trump's embarrassing weakness on information security
Thank you for having me.