Trump and Vought are now breaking both sides of spending law. They’re illegally not spending where the law requires them to spend, and they’re illegally spending where they don’t have the money to spend. What we have is an appropriations king. Spending “deals” are meaningless under that setup.

The Wa Post has issued an important story on an upcoming major SSA disability regulation that would especially affect older disabled workers: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202... 1/2

🧵 Big changes may be coming to disability benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is preparing a rule that could reshape how eligibility is determined for SSDI and SSI. Here’s what you need to know—and why it matters. www.urban.org/research/pub...

The Administration has taken credit for a substantial drop in the Social Security disability claims backlog. In this piece I explore the concerning factors behind this drop, including fewer new applications and more denials. www.urban.org/urban-wire/s...

My new op-ed! “The pocket rescission is just a beacon meant to draw our attention. Trump wants us to focus on the foreign aid impoundments — a shiny object he’s illegally deleting via a pocket rescission — so that we forget about the quiet impoundments of cancer research and preschool funding.”

Important contrast.

People have been debating and worried about the Social Security Trust Fund shortfall for decades. It's widely seen as an enormous fiscal challenge. One Big Beautiful Bill's tax cuts' permanent cost is actually *larger* than the Social Security Trust Fund shortfall.

The House reconciliation bill includes a provision that could keep many thousands of individuals from receiving EITC. This little noticed provision requires IRS to precertify millions of individuals for EITC. See this piece from Janet Holtzblatt. taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/one-b...

The rescissions request is out. This is very real. As with reconciliation, this is filibuster-proof, meaning that there is no Senate cloture vote, and Republicans can pass it even with all Dems opposed. The White House is calling to cut global health programs, condemning people to die.

The crisis at SSA since January 20 is impacting people. Individual claims for retirement benefits are up 13 percent compared with this time last year, an increase of more than 276,000 claims. In this piece Chantel Boyens and I examine the development. 1/4 www.urban.org/urban-wire/m...

An important thread.

The FY 2026 President’s Budget level for the Social Security Administration (SSA) represents a second year of essentially flat funding for SSA’s core operations, even as costs and rates of claiming increase, making the proposed level a cut in real terms. 1/5

he's drawing a line! he's okay with the largest medicaid cuts in history, but not the super duper largest medicaid cuts in history 😤

Former Social Security Administration leaders have warned that staffing reductions and computer outages could make SSA more vulnerable to a short interruption in benefits. Urban Institute experts modeled this scenario: www.urban.org/urban-wire/d...

in total, the republican judiciary bill would give $73 billion to ICE over 5 years - a 140% increase annual increase in ICE funding above its current level of $10.5 per year $9 billion for ICE agents, $14.4 billion for deportations, $45 billion for detention facilities, $5 billion for other stuff

The National Academy of Social Insurance’s Task Force on AI, Emerging Tech and Disability Benefits has released its Phase One Report. With so much focus on using AI at the Social Security Administration this report is very timely. 1/2 www.nasi.org/pressrelease...

The Trump Administration’s use of the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File for immigration enforcement undermines the integrity and solvency of Social Security. Here is an assessment from Tara Watson and me. See next post on a piece from CBPP. www.brookings.edu/articles/imm...

This happens every single time with DOGE. Each “revelation” at Social Security has been at best an elementary misunderstanding, at worst a slanderous lie. Either way, we cannot trust these people with our sensitive data & vital benefits.

The NYT and WaPost report the Trump Administration is erroneously adding immigrants to what is known as the “death master file” who are not deceased and have legally obtained an SSN. The Social Security Administration has accepted an initial list of about 6,000 immigrants. 1/5

Republicans have signaled their intent to break all budget rules in the Senate by inventing their own cost estimates on the spot. This would be many steps towards nuking the filibuster - and you may as well repeal the entire Congressional Budget Act at that point. Thread explaining it would work

My new op-ed w/Jason Fichtner: The Social Security Administration is in crisis, and people’s benefits are at risk. We do not say this lightly. We both served in senior roles at SSA — one of us under a Democratic president and the other under a Republican. thehill.com/opinion/5220...

If you are trying to follow all the Trump actions regarding Social Security, this piece is a must read. The authors explain why the actions and attacks on the program put SSA and its beneficiaries at risk. www.cbpp.org/sites/defaul...

There’s been a lot of talk recently about cutting funding and staffing at the IRS. New work from the Budget Lab shows that if the IRS shrinks by 50% we estimate that this would result in 350 billion net forgone revenue over the 10-year budget window. 1/ @budgetlab.bsky.social

The Trump Social Security Admin leaders are taking another step backwards. Lisa Rein @FedGirlWaPo reports that they plan to require millions to file for benefits in person. Plenty of rigorous research that shows new administrative obstacles reduces program participation.

The Senate has passed the deeply flawed House R funding bill. It’s far from “clean”— but the single most important fact now is this: The CR has set in law full-year funding levels that make clear the Administration's impoundments & mass firings remain illegal. Period.

One thing everyone should understand is that DOGE has created the least efficient conditions for government I've ever seen. *The working conditions are chaotic. *No clear sense of who works there. *Routine processes have been stopped. *No planning can take place. *People are incredibly demoralized.

Every year, we debate the funding levels for about 1/3 of the budget. How much is NASA gonna get this year? What about NIH? How about the EPA? When we do an omnibus or a CR, we’re working on that 1/3 or the budget. Reconciliation is largely about seeking to change the remaining 2/3 of the budget.

To everyone who cares about health policy research: staff at the HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are being told DOGE plans to RIF 85 to 90% of the staff, decimating the agency and longstanding research and data collection, such as the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

The Republican CR would give $485 million more to ICE while cutting Head Start and funding to help keep our drinking water safe.

House Republicans just passed a full-year appropriations bill for 2025 that will worsen the customer service crisis at the Social Security Administration (SSA) by freezing its already low customer service funding. This amounts to a *cut* after adjusting for inflation. 🧵

Last Friday SSA announced that for new Social Security overpayments the repayment amount would increase from 10% of benefits to 100%. This effort reflects both a glaring lack of understanding of the program and a deep indifference to the harm to beneficiaries. 1/5

We’ve been hearing a lot from the Trump administration about waste, fraud and abuse at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Speaker Johnson has repeated these claims. What and where is this waste? A revealing SSA press release shows the emptiness of these charges. 1/8

In over thirty years of working on the Social Security Administration (SSA) and its programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget and now the Urban Institute, I have never been more concerned about the agency than I am today. 1/9

I have a new Urban Institute blog that examines the serious impact reductions in the number of government employees will have on people applying for Social Security and SSI disability benefits, benefits for which people are entitled. www.urban.org/urban-wire/d...

Anyway, it’s legitimately a great thing for Rs to aggressively go after Medicare fraud. The doctors and hospitals doing it take advantage of the elderly and leave the HI Trust Fund closer to insolvency. Recommend Rs ask the their in-house Medicare fraud expert Senator Rick Scott for suggestions.

Great piece. I'll never have a better boss than Shalanda Young, and you'll never find a better public servant. apnews.com/article/shal...