Hiltzik: Trump messes with Social Security services in Maine

Donald Trump and Elon Musk: What do they have against Social Security? Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of Social Security, issued a press release Friday, stating that the contract allowing parents to apply for their newborns’ Social Security numbers through Maine’s healthcare agency, along with another through which Maine authorities reported deaths of Maine residents to the Social Security Administration, had been reinstated. The move, said Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, “defies common sense and implies nefarious motives.Why on earth would the administration want to make it harder for parents to register their children for Social Security unless the aim was to shrink the size of the program?” The advocacy organization Social Security Works had the same impression. Janet Mills.” Trump has said that he’s “not touching” Social Security, but actions speak louder than words. That’s especially true as the DOGE budget-cutters rampaging through the Social Security Administration have stated their intent to cut the agency’s customer service budget, in part by closing field offices.