Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Donald Trump And Elon Musk Laying The Groundwork To Gut Social Security And Medicare To Fund Tax Cuts For The Ultra Wealthy

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to address Elon Musk’s comments about the need to eliminate Social Security and Medicare, which is critical to tens of millions of seniors, all in service of funding tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Yesterday afternoon, Elon Musk confirmed what many of us have warning about for a long time – Republicans are getting ready to gut Social Security and Medicare.

Let me repeat that: Elon Musk confirmed what many of us have warned about – Republicans are getting ready to gut Social Security and gut Medicare.

Here's what he said during an interview with Fox Business: the richest man on Earth repeated again a bevy of lies that entitlement programs tens of millions of people rely on are riddled with fraud and abuse. That’s a pretext to slashing them, but it’s false.

He added, “most of the federal spending is entitlements.” That’s true.

“So that’s the big one to eliminate,” meaning Social Security.

Let me quote Elon Musk again: “That’s the big one to eliminate.”

It’s rare to hear Republicans tell the truth about their plans so directly. What Elon Musk is saying is that sooner or later, Republicans are going to target people’s Social Security and Medicare benefits.

The outrage that the richest man in the world would tell millions of seniors who depend on those checks each month that it's fraud – that it's waste – is outrageous. He doesn't have any idea the harm it would do, and it isn't fraud.

Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans know that the math on their billionaire tax cuts will not work without going after these benefits. And all they care about is cutting their taxes further. It’s outrageous.

As America begins to hear this, America is going to realize what a bad bargain Donald Trump was in the election. It’s another awful reminder that under Donald Trump and Elon Musk and Republicans, billionaires win, American families lose.

There is something truly rotten about the Republican agenda when a multi-billionaire – the richest man in the world – is allowed to lie so casually about one of America’s most sacred programs in order to justify taking benefits away from hardworking Americans.

Few programs have done more good, have helped more people, and have been more popular than Social Security has for nearly a century.

Few programs are as beloved by Americans as Social Security.

Americans, of course, support eliminating waste. But they do not want to see their Social Security benefits get taken away.

How is Elon Musk trying to do this? He’s using the oldest trick in the book: shamelessly lying about Social Security, just as Donald Trump did in his State of the Union address where he listed hundreds of people who were born 120 years ago and couldn't show a single one was getting Social Security.

Elon Musk is shamelessly lying about Social Security, claiming it’s riddled with fraud, in order to justify taking benefits away from seniors and retirees.

He ignores the very bold, plain fact that the federal government already conducts an audit of Social Security every year. It’s a legit audit, not a partisan audit. It's been done during Donald Trump's presidency and Joe Biden's presidency.

And what did it find? That less than 1% of all payments from 2015 to 2022 were made in error. That, Mr. Musk, is not what fraud looks like.

He cherry-picks data to suggest that tens of millions of dead people are getting checks. This is a lie.

And to be sure, this isn’t just about Elon Musk’s rhetoric. The assault on Social Security is already taking shape in practice.

DOGE has already taken over the Social Security Administration, and has free access to the private data and benefits of tens of millions of Americans.

The Trump administration has already begun to fire 7,000 staffers, which means local offices will shut down, customer service wait times will explode, the risk of delayed benefits will skyrocket.

I ask my Republican colleagues: are you all fine with this? 

Are they fine with Elon Musk calling Social Security one giant scam? 

Let's find a single person here on the Republican side who starts rebutting Elon Musk once and for all, when they know he's doing what the American people hate and is not telling the truth.

Do our colleagues agree with Elon Musk’s lie that hundreds of billions of dollars in outright fraud has compromised Social Security?

Mark my words: if Elon Musk and DOGE continue their attacks against Social Security – if the president continues his attacks, which he made in his State of the Union – sooner or later benefits are going to be delayed or mistakenly halted. And the political uproar from Americans across the country will be immense.

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