Summary
A nonprofit organization, Democracy Forward, is suing the Social Security Administration (SSA) for not complying with requests for information about recent internal changes and their impact. The lawsuit claims these changes, such as workforce reductions and reduced customer service, have caused issues for beneficiaries. The SSA has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Key Facts
- The lawsuit involves allegations that the SSA did not comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records.
- Democracy Forward filed these requests to understand changes under the Trump-Vance administration affecting SSA services.
- Changes mentioned include workforce cuts, reduced phone support, and the removal of customer service data from the SSA's website.
- The nonprofit states these changes have led to longer wait times and delayed payments for beneficiaries.
- Democracy Forward began filing FOIA requests in July 2025 but has not received the requested documents from SSA.
- The SSA's workforce was reduced by 2,000 employees, with a staffing target set at 50,000 employees.
- SSA has implemented identity-verification tools to reduce phone-based fraud, but some changes were later rolled back.
- The lawsuit emphasizes the need for transparency as over 74 million Americans depend on Social Security benefits.
