AARP Furious About Trump Administration Curtailing Social Security Phone Service

Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s false fraud warnings have led to rapid changes at the Social Security Administration.

WASHINGTON — The leading advocacy group for older Americans is not happy at all about the Donald Trump administration’s plans to require office visits for certain Social Security requests that have long been handled by phone.

The Social Security Administration announced Tuesday that, beginning at the end of the month, anyone unable to prove their identity via SSA.gov will have to do it in person at one of the agency’s 1,200 field offices instead of just picking up the phone.

“Asking tens of millions of Americans to jump through new hoops and prove their identity in the next 13 days to access the customer service they have paid for is deeply unacceptable,” AARP Vice President Nancy LeaMond warned in a letter to Leland Dudek, Social Security’s acting commissioner.

Dudek said the change was necessary to prevent Social Security fraud, which has emerged as a top concern for President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, with the duo falsely claiming Social Security makes bogus payouts to millions of phantom beneficiaries.

Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has pushed the Social Security Administration to shrink its staff, office space and contracts. Dudek was put in charge after he went around superiors, who have since resigned, to help DOGE gain access to the agency’s most sensitive databases, which contain personal information about practically everybody in America.