Tens of millions of Americans count on the Social Security Administration (SSA) to deliver benefits they need to pay rent or afford basic household expenses. Social security also lifts millions of children out of poverty and provides crucial disability and life insurance protections.
In recent weeks, however, the Trump Administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE) have taken actions that risk unraveling the system. Cuts made to the crucial department have created longer wait times, delayed benefits, and propped up unnecessary barriers for those who need to access the benefits they earned, particularly the nine in 10 Americans over the age of 65 and millions of people with disabilities who rely on it.
“What’s going on is the destruction of the agency from the inside out, and it’s accelerating,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) told The Washington Post. “I have people approaching me all the time in their 70s and 80s, and they’re beside themselves. They don’t know what’s coming.”
According to The Washington Post, the SSA delivers $1.5 trillion a year in benefits to 73 million retired workers, their survivors, and poor and disabled Americans.
Amid the cuts, Trump’s pick to run the Social Security Administration, Frank Bisignano, faced questions about customer service, erroneous payments, and the impact of DOGE during a Senate confirmation hearing last week.
During the confirmation hearing, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis relayed support towards Bisignano’s recommendations on cuts to Social Security, even if it affects Social Security offices in the state.
The latest announcement from DOGE had a total of 47 offices with closures or plans for closure across the country, with almost half of all closures in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
According to the Associated Press, several Security Administration offices in North Carolina are in the process of being closed by DOGE, including:
730 Roanoke Ave., Roanoke Rapids: Aug. 1
2123 Lakeside Drive, Franklin: June 23
2805 Charles Blvd., Greenville: June 24
1865 W. City Drive, Elizabeth City: June 24
“Musk and Trump’s venture: their definition of waste, fraud and abuse is highly questionable,” wrote Paige Masten in an editorial piece for The Charlotte Observer. “A lease on an office building, and salaries for the people who work there, aren’t wasteful if they’re helping people access the benefits they need — especially if it’s the only office around for miles. In the end, they’re just hurting the very taxpayers they claim to be helping.”
