Jan 3, 2025
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who chairs the House subcommittee created to support the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was recently confronted over President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign pledge not to cut Social Security.
Her response was to throw a printed copy of the pledge on the ground and say, “You guys suck,” referring, presumably, to the Democratic Party and its supporters.
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Here’s what happened.
A confrontation over Social Security
When Greene was heading for the first subcommittee meeting, she was confronted by Alex Lawson, the executive director of Strengthen Social Security, a group dedicated to expanding and strengthening the benefits program. Lawson held up a mailed document containing Trump's pledge not to cut Social Security, asking if Greene would promise to honor it.
Greene became angry upon seeing Lawson, and she threw the document on the floor, although it is unclear if she realized it was a campaign mailer from Trump at the time of the incident.
Greene didn't wait to hear what Lawson had to say before she reacted. According to reports of the incident, as soon as Lawson called out "congresswoman" to get her attention, Greene immediately recognized him and began yelling that he was part of a "Democrat PAC," that he is "funded by a Democratic PAC, donates 100% to Democrats, and is ‘not media.’"
When replying to Lawson's request, Greene also said, "I don't need to take a pledge because we've already done that all year long, and guess what? The sad story for you is the American people elected Trump, his agenda and Republicans to lead the country because you guys suck so bad."
While her words imply that the Republicans have not proposed cuts and may not plan to, Newsweek reported that another House Republican, Greg Lopez of Colorado, responded to a question about Social Security and Medicare by stating that "there will be some cuts."
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Is Social Security safe?
Republicans like Greene and Lopez are facing tough questions about Social Security for some important reasons.
For one thing, Social Security is the largest line item in the government's budget, accounting for close to a fifth of all federal spending, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
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With DOGE aiming to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, getting anywhere near that number will be difficult without making changes to Medicare or Social Security or both.
What's more, Social Security's trust fund is expected to run dry as early as 2035, necessitating an automatic 23% benefits cut if changes are not made.
President Trump also pledged during the campaign to end taxes on Social Security benefits, which could result in the trust fund running short three years sooner and necessitating a larger 33% benefits cut, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
These issues make it difficult for the status quo to continue. This does not, however, mean that Republicans will embrace cuts, as reducing benefits is extremely unpopular.
The reality is that Social Security is often called the third rail in politics. With Trump planning an ambitious populist agenda, there are plenty of less-popular targets for him to focus his spending cuts on that are likely to be a much higher priority.
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Christy Bieber has 15 years of experience as a personal finance and legal writer. She has written for many publications including Forbes, Kilplinger, CNN, WSJ, Credit Karma, Insurify and more.
