A Connecticut federal lawmaker is condemning a reported proposal that would change Social Security benefits for certain state residents and many other Americans.
U.S. John B. Larson, D-1, condemned what he said was the Trump Administration’s latest proposal to deny Social Security disability benefits, saying it is “cruel, reckless, and proof that Donald Trump never met a benefit he didn’t want to cut.” Larson is ranking member of the House Social Security Subcommittee.
Larson was referring, according to an email sent by his staff, to a story in the Washington Post that reported, “Trump administration officials are considering eliminating age as a factor in deciding whether someone is capable of working.” The Post attributed the information to “three people familiar with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private discussions.”
Larson said such a plan “follows last month’s plan by the White House to cut Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for up to 400,000 people. These cuts are reportedly priorities of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect who now serves as President Trump’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget.”
“It is not enough for Donald Trump to shut down the government so 15 million Americans lose their health care and millions more see their premiums skyrocket,” said Larson in a statement. “Now he wants to go after Americans with disabilities – people who have worked their entire lives – only to be told they are on their own when they need help most.
“This is the same group of Trump operatives who threatened to raise the retirement age and gut Social Security. Whether it is health care, food assistance, or Social Security, Donald Trump’s mission is the same: cut benefits for working people and hand the ‘savings’ to billionaires on Wall Street. Democrats will not let that happen. We will fight tooth and nail to protect the basic support Americans have earned. These programs are not giveaways, they are promises. Breaking those promises – that’s not leadership – it’s betrayal. Not on our watch.”
A White House spokesman, contacted Sunday, said President Trump had made only one policy change to Social Security.
““President Trump will always protect and defend Social Security for American citizens,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said
“The only policy change to Social Security is President Trump’s working families tax cut legislation that eliminated taxation of Social Security for almost all beneficiaries – which every single Democrat voted against,” Desai said.
The SSA did not respond to a request for comment Sunday, but the Post quoted SSA spokesman Barton Mackey as saying the agency is working on plans to “propose improvements to the disability adjudication process to ensure our disability program remains current and can be more efficiently administered.”
“This includes proposing policy updates to occupational data sources and optimizing their use to serve our customers and preserve the trust funds,” the Post quotes Mackey as saying. “Once the proposal is fully developed, we will share it publicly and request public comment through the standard rulemaking process. … As with any rulemaking, we will consider and analyze public comments before deciding whether to finalize the rule.”
According to the Social Security Administration, to become eligible for disability benefits, you must have worked in jobs covered by Social Security.and have a medical condition that meets “Social Security’s strict definition of disability.”
The condition must: significantly limit the ability to do basic work-related activities (“lifting, standing, walking, sitting, or remembering”); according the the agency, Further, for those who “can’t do the work you did in the past,” the agency looks “to see if there is other work you could do despite your medical impairment” and also considers the person’s medical conditions, age, education, past work experience, and any transferable skills the may have, .
Larson said that, as of 2022, “almost 42 percent of disability applicants were found eligible due to their age, a factor that would be severely curtailed under the Trump Administration’s new plan.”
“In 2020, the Trump Administration weighed a similar rule to restrict disability benefits in the middle of the COVID pandemic. Additionally, their plan to limit eligibility for SSI would reduce or eliminate benefits for nearly 400,000 Americans, including an estimated 4,300 Connecticut residents.