(Reuters) -Democratic former President Joe Biden on Tuesday made his first major speech since leaving the White House in January, defending the Social Security Administration as the Trump administration cuts agency staff and shutters some of its offices.
Biden’s speech in Chicago to disability advocates marked a major re-emergence onto America’s political landscape, as President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, run by tech billionaire Elon Musk, makes massive cuts to the federal workforce.
Biden said the Trump administration has “taken a hatchet” to the agency.
“This new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction,” he said, as he called Social Security “more than a government program.”
“It’s a sacred promise we made as a nation. We know just how much Social Security matters to people’s lives.”
The SSA pays out $1.4 trillion in benefits to 73 million elderly and disabled Americans annually. Trump repeatedly pledged during his election campaign not to touch Social Security benefits.
Members of the DOGE team have been inside the agency since February, where leadership has pledged to cut at least 7,000 staff and shutter offices, triggering fears of longer lines, longer wait times and benefit disruptions.
In March a federal judge said the SSA likely violated privacy laws by giving Musk’s aides “unbridled access” to the data of millions of Americans inside the agency’s networks, and ordered a temporary halt to further record-sharing. The case continues.
“President Trump is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding tax-paying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this program. He will always protect that program,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, told reporters before Biden’s speech.
Many layoffs or resignations have taken place inside the agency’s IT departments, and Biden referred to a recent increase in the number of times the agency’s computer systems have crashed.
“People can’t sign on to their accounts,” Biden said. “Who in the hell do they think they are?” he said of the Trump administration.
Some Democrats had misgivings about Biden’s speech, saying it might be better for him not to re-enter the political fray.
Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist, said many Democrats are concerned that Biden’s appearance will distract from the political and economic blowback Trump is getting for triggering a trade war with China and imposing tariffs on other countries.
“We are finally beginning to see cracks in the armor in terms of Trump’s policies,” Finney said. “You don’t want to become a lightning rod that distracts from Trump. And it could make it easy for Trump to change the subject to Biden.”
Biden, 82, dropped his reelection bid last July after a poor debate performance against Trump. Kamala Harris, his vice president, then lost the November election.
Biden left office in January with one of the lowest approval ratings for a post-World War Two president, at 38%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, and after a four-year term marked by high inflation and questions about his mental acuity. Many Democrats blamed him for Trump’s victory.
Presidential historian Timothy Naftali said it was important for Biden to speak out about Social Security, precisely because of his age.
“I understand why some Democrats would like Biden to fade away,” Naftali said. “But a very important part of the Democratic base remains older people on Social Security, and Joe Biden has always been their champion.”
(Reporting by Tim Reid in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Richard Chang)
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