President uses event to tout his hard-right immigration polices that he says ensures Social Security isn’t abused by “illegal aliens who have no right to be here.”
1 of 3 | President Donald Trump shows the signed proclamation marking the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act in the Oval Office at the White House with Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano on Thursday. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo
Nine decades after the Social Security Act became law, President Donald Trump officially designated Thursday as the “90th Anniversary of the Social Security Act.”
Some 60 million U.S. seniors rely on Social Security, and payments have ended for more than 275,000 people who did not qualify for benefits, the president said during an afternoon news conference at the White House with Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano at his side.
President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on Aug. 14, 1935, and Trump last month ended federal income taxes for most of its recipients upon signing the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law.
“Social Security is rooted in a simple premise: those who gave their careers to building our nation will always have the support, stability and relief they deserve,” Trump said in a proclamation shared with UPI.
He called Social Security a “monumental legislative achievement that protects our seniors, uplifts our citizens and sustains the livelihoods of hardworking Americans who devoted their professions to bettering our country.”
On the 90th anniversary of its signing, the president said he recommits to “always defending Social Security, rewarding the men and women who make our country prosperous and taking care of our own workers, families, seniors and citizens first.”
Social Security is “stronger and more resilient than before” as his administration continues “rooting out all fraud, waste and abuse that rob our federal programs of resources,” Trump said.
Payments to deceased former recipients and those who do not legally qualify for Social Security are ending, he added.
“I also am proudly restoring strong border security policies to ensure that Medicare and Social Security are preserved for the citizen who paid into them — not abused by illegal aliens who have no right to be here,” Trump said.
Bisignano is a former chief operating officer at JPMorgan Chase and lauded Trump’s efforts on behalf of the nation and its citizens and building what he called the “best leadership team ever assembled in the White House.”
He said more than 300 million Americans depend on Social Security and called it an “opportunity” to serve them by eliminating “fraud, waste and abuse” while providing “more accurate payments and better service.”
“This will be a digital-first agency,” Bisignano said. “We have a bold goal of 200 million Americans that have a digital SSA account by the end of next year. It will happen.”
He said the Social Security Administration in 90 days reduced phone wait times from 40 minutes to single digits to “serve the American public.”
Upon being confirmed as the head of Social Security, Bisignano said he inherited $18 billion in errors within the Social Security system, and his team solved half of that amount in a month.
“That’s the type of swift action we can take,” Bisignano said. “We are serving more people and delivering more than was ever delivered before in a manner of high quality.”
