Exclusive: White House wants to defund independent Social Security board, sources say
Source: Reuters
April 25, 2025 5:55 PM EDT Updated 12 hours ago
April 25 (Reuters) - The White House wants to defund a bipartisan board that advises the president and Congress on Social Security policy, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the Trump administration moves to cut costs and eliminate independent voices in government.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget has notified staff at the Social Security Advisory Board that it plans to cut the board's annual budget from around $3 million to zero, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public budgetary details. The move to defund the SSAB has not been previously reported. Congress established it in the 1990s as an independent federal agency to provide objective analysis on how to improve Social Security, the popular program that annually pays $1.4 trillion in benefits to 73 million Americans.
While the board does not have decision-making power, its research has helped shape how the SSA runs itself and facilitated legislation. It has also played a role in important policy debates, including a 2005 effort under then-President George W. Bush to privatize the agency that ultimately failed. The board's research was a key building block in a 2018 law that reduced the compliance burden for select categories of people appointed to receive benefits on behalf of those who cannot manage their own payments, while tightening checks for others
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While technically a separate agency, the advisory board's funding is a line item in the SSA's budget each year. This month, OMB gave SSA its proposed budget for the next fiscal year from October 1, with funding for the board set at zero, the two sources said. When asked about the board's budget, OMB spokesperson Rachel Cauley said no final funding decisions had been made.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/white-house-wants-defund-independent-social-security-board-sources-say-2025-04-25/
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