September 7, 2025 - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading member of Senate Democrats’ Social Security 
War Room, has released a new report debunking the Trump administration’s recent lies and misleading statements about Social Security — the latest of the War Room’s actions to set the record straight and ensure Americans know the truth about Trump’s attacks on Social Security.
After months of chaos at Trump’s Social Security Administration — which has included massive workforce cuts, customer service disruptions, and unreliable phone wait times — the White House last month issued a press release featuring numerous false claims in an apparent effort to defend President Trump’s poor record on Social Security. Since, Trump’s Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano has parroted similar claims on TV and social media.
In a new report, the Social Security War Room found at least five of those claims to be false or misleading — underscoring how the Trump Administration has weakened Social Security and threatened Americans’ Social Security benefits.
Read the full fact check here.
Highlights from the Social Security War Room fact check include:
TRUMP CLAIM #1: “Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill—now the law of the land—the vast majority of seniors receiving Social Security will no longer pay taxes on that income.”
FACT: The One Big Beautiful Bill “does not amend, reduce, or eliminate the federal taxation of Social Security benefits.” The bill does provide a temporary income tax deduction for some seniors – but even this temporary deduction benefits less than half of older Americans—decidedly not a “vast majority.”
TRUMP CLAIM #2: “The [Social Security Administration] is handling 70% more calls than last year, while lowering the average speed of answer by 80%, from 30 minutes to just six minutes.”
FACT: The Trump Administration has a record of misleading the public when it comes to SSA’s performance metrics. Recent reporting revealed SSA’s misleading metrics on its 1-800 number wait times. While the agency claimed the average wait time for its 1-800 number was 12 minutes, an investigation from Senator Warren’s office revealed customers were on hold for an average of 102 minutes, or nearly one hour and 45 minutes—8.5 times higher than the agency’s claims—with wait times often exceeding 3 hours.
The Trump Administration’s estimates on providing services to Social Security recipients are false based on even its own questionable SSA public data. SSA’s data shows that the agency is expected to handle just 25% more calls than last year.
TRUMP CLAIM #3: “All field offices are fully staffed, with employees returning to the office five days a week for the first time in years to better serve the American people.”
FACT: The Trump Administration has made unprecedented cuts to the SSA workforce, resulting in Social Security offices losing an estimated 20% of staff and causing serious service delays.
TRUMP CLAIM #4: “Social Security has made vast technology improvements.”
FACT: The Trump Administration’s so-called technology improvements at SSA have been haphazard and rolled out with limited testing, and there is no indication that they have been effective.
TRUMP CLAIM #5: “The agency has identified more than $1 billion in cost avoidance and efficiencies this fiscal year…The agency has addressed billions of dollars in improper payments.”
FACT: President Trump’s and administration officials’ false claims about Social Security fraud have been widely debunked—including by SSA’s own internal documents, leading the agency to reverse a bogus policy.
Senate Dems’ Social Security War Room is a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.
Source: Senator Elizabeth Warren
