FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 5th, 2026
Contact: Linda Benesch, lbenesch@socialsecurityworks.org
Donald Trump Views Social Security As a Weapon Against His Enemies, Not An Earned Benefit
(Washington, DC) — The following is a statement from Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, in response to a whistleblower claim that the Trump administration planned to falsely mark 2.7 million Americans as dead in the Social Security database:
“Donald Trump ran on a promise to protect Social Security, but this whistleblower report is the latest evidence of how he really views it: As nothing more than a weapon to wield against his enemies.
We already knew that the Trump administration fraudulently moved over 3,000 living immigrants to Social Security’s death master file. Now, the whistleblower reveals that DOGE operatives seriously considered falsely declaring 2.7 million people dead, including U.S. citizens and children.
Moving a living person to Social Security’s death master file is financial murder. It means losing access to your bank account, your health insurance, and your credit cards. It means getting kicked out of your home. It means that your life is destroyed.
Why would the Trump administration do this? According to the whistleblower, they said the goal was to make immigrants so miserable that they either left the country, or went to Social Security offices to try and fix the problem. If they showed up at Social Security offices, the Trump administration planned to arrest them — even though they could only have obtained Social Security numbers if they were in the country lawfully.
Trump, and his closest advisors like Stephen Miller, are willing to use this horrific tactic because they have no respect for our Social Security system, for the 71 million beneficiaries who receive monthly benefits they have earned, or for the 185 million workers and their employers who contribute to Social Security. Trump is more than willing to use our dedicated monies for his personal vendettas. The Trump administration has stolen all of our most sensitive data, which we have entrusted to the government for the sole purpose of administering Social Security.
Just as Trump has weaponized the Department of Justice to attack his political enemies and reward his January 6 thugs, he could use his power over our Social Security against immigrants, political enemies — or anyone he doesn’t like.”
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