John,

Even without an act of Congress, attacks on our earned Social Security benefits are well underway.

Elon Musk’s DOGE is cutting thousands of staff from the Social Security Administration, putting up barriers between us and our earned benefits, including phone wait times doubling, the Social Security web portal repeatedly crashing, and offices closing.

Musk, the richest man in the world, is falsely claiming rampant fraud in Social Security, because he doesn’t understand how the system works and because he wants to steal from everyday people. Trump has repeated Musk’s lies, including in his address before a joint session of Congress.

They are laying the groundwork for Social Security’s collapse, with Trump’s Commerce Secretary (another billionaire) even saying last month that if Social Security checks don’t go out, anyone who complains is a fraudster.¹

They’re destroying Social Security before our very eyes. We must defend this lifesaving program, which lifts 27 million Americans out of poverty each year.

Add your name now to demand Congress act to protect Social Security from Trump and his billionaire cronies. Demand Donald Trump and Elon Musk get their hands off Social Security!

Upon implementation of Social Security 85 years ago, FDR said, “no damn politician can ever scrap my social security program.”² Unfortunately, FDR didn’t account for the billionaire dismantling of our federal government. Musk is by far the richest person in the world, and he wants seniors and people with disabilities to starve. We won't let that happen.

Together, we must never give up in our defense of our rights, our earned benefits, and our very democracy. We will keep pushing for a government that provides for people’s needs, not the profits of billionaires.

With you in this fight,

Rashida

¹ Trump's billionaire Commerce Secretary says that seniors won't care if they don't get their Social Security checks
² Social Security: Research Notes & Special Studies by the Historian's Office

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Thu, April 10, 2025
Subject: Demand Congress protect Social Security from Elon Musk and Donald Trump
To: [email protected]

John,

Republicans and their Wall Street donors have been seeking to dismantle and privatize Social Security since its inception 85 years ago. They want to get their hands on our hard-earned benefits and gamble our retirement security on the stock market.

Because we have successfully beaten back their repeated attempts to cut or undermine Social Security in Congress, now they are dismantling Social Security in a new way: through Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).

Already, thousands of workers at the Social Security Administration (SSA) have been fired or forced out, with Musk claiming that thousands more will lose their jobs. This is leading to the closure of Social Security field offices, call wait times stretching hours on end, and the time it takes to process disability claims likely to stretch well beyond a year.

A new report from Senator Bernie Sanders indicates that if Elon Musk and Donald Trump successfully gut the Social Security Administration, 67,000 people could die while awaiting approval of their disability benefits.¹

The last Social Security Commissioner, Martin O’Malley, stated that Musk’s actions, which include gaining access to people’s sensitive Social Security information, will lead to a “system collapse” within the “next 30 to 90 days.”²

We’re demanding Congress act to end the Trump administration’s attacks on Social Security and save the SSA before it’s too late. Add your name now to demand Trump and Musk get their hands off Social Security!

Last Saturday, millions of people made our voices heard at Hands Off! rallies and protests in towns and cities across the country. We demanded Trump and Musk get their hands off Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, nutrition benefits, public education, voting rights, and our very democracy.

We won't let billionaires steal from seniors and people with disabilities. I joined the workers’ union that represents workers at the Social Security Administration―American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)―at a rally in Michigan last Friday to defend SSA and federal workers.

Right now, more than 4 million Americans turn 65 each year. We need to be ensuring access to our lifesaving earned Social Security benefits, not putting up barriers between us and the benefits that we’ve paid into over a lifetime of work.

Add your name now to demand Congress act to defend Social Security from Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

Social Security lifts 27 million Americans out of poverty each year. It is the most beloved social insurance program in our country’s history. We will not let billionaires dismantle it and hand our hard-earned benefits over to Wall Street.

In solidarity,

Rashida

¹ Sanders Says 67,000 Could Die Awaiting Benefits Under Musk Cuts to Social Security Administration
² Social Security Benefits Could Face 'Interruption' Within 30 Days