3/27/25: Strada Touted DOGE’s Work And Said He Was “So Grateful” The Trump Administration Was Rooting Out “Waste And Abuse” In The Government. According to Joe Strada on Florida’s Voice with Drew Steele, “STRADA: When did we ever think of attacking and saving the American taxpayer these, this money and these kinds of opportunities and processes? It’s, it’s amazing. I mean, President Trump, it’s just unbelievable where we’re going. I mean, the NPR and PBS, all they do is push chronically biased programming masquerading as public media. We know that. And our taxpayer, we’re paying for this. You know, as a taxpayer, a father, a grandfather, I’m so grateful that President Trump is leaving no stone unturned. I mean, it is, just root out waste and abuse by these institutions. It’s, you know, clear we have so many opportunities to do this.” [Joe Strada, Florida’s Voice with Drew Steele, 3/27/25] (video)
One Year After DOGE-Era Cuts Resulted In A 12 Percent Cut Of The Social Security Administration’s Workforce, Social Security Offices Across The Country Still Struggled With Staffing. According to Business Insider, "More than a dozen Social Security field offices are listed as closed to in-person service, instead directing customers to reach out by phone or contact the national 800 number. Now, the list of closures has prompted concerns for the beleaguered agency and its recipients. A federal employees' union memo obtained by Business Insider sheds some light on why offices are closed: Some due to operational issues with their buildings, while others are so small that any understaffing forces them to temporarily shut down. […] The closures come at a tumultuous time for the Social Security Administration and its beneficiaries; the agency shed around 7,000 workers, or nearly 12% of its workforce, during the DOGE era, and has had to temporarily reassign some employees to staff phone lines. While the SSA said these office closures are temporary, staffing issues and a lack of field offices could be an increasing problem for the administration and recipients alike. Some currently-shuttered offices simply don't have enough staff. These smaller offices, called resident stations, are often staffed by just one person and serve low-population areas. Two resident stations in rural Montana and Wyoming are closed for lack of workers." [Business Insider, 4/23/26]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Stops Reporting Call Wait Times And Other Metrics" [Washington Post, 6/20/25]
HEADLINE: "As Social Security Services Are Cut Back, Millions Of Seniors Face Long Drives" [Axios, 4/8/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Website Keeps Crashing, As DOGE Demands Cuts To IT Staff" [Washington Post, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Faces Thousands More Job Cuts Even With Service In Tailspin" [Washington Post, 4/4/25]
The Social Security Administration Website Crashed Four Times In Ten Days In March Because Servers Were Overloaded. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Field Office Managers At Social Security Offices Had To Answer Phones In Place Of Receptionists Because DOGE Had Pushed Out So Many Federal Employees. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
DOGE Eliminated The Social Security Administration’s System To Monitor Customer Experience. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Early February-Late March 2025: AARP Said More Than 2,000 People Per Week Had Called Expressing Concerns About Whether They Would Continue To Get Their Social Security Benefits. According to the Washington Post, "Alarmed lawmakers are straining to answer questions back home from angry constituents. Calls have flooded into congressional offices. AARP announced Monday that more than 2,000 people a week have called the retiree organization since early February — double the usual number — with concerns about whether benefits they paid for during their working careers will continue. Social Security is the primary source of income for about 40 percent of older Americans." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
2025: 243,347 Floridians In The 11th Congressional District Relied On Social Security Benefits. According to the Social Security Administration, in 2025, 243,347 Floridians in the 11th congressional district received Social Security benefits. [Social Security Administration, Florida, 2025]
May 2025: Florida Food Banks Suffered After DOGE Cut Funding For Nearly $1 Billion Worth Of U.S. Department Of Agriculture Programs. According to CBS News, “The food goes to people like Rosalyn Budgett, who lives on a fixed income and comes to Feeding South Florida every two months. ‘I'm able to get a balanced meal on a daily basis,’ Budgett told CBS News. She says that without the food bank, ‘I'd probably starve.’ But the aid she relies on has been reduced. In March, the White House's Department of Government Efficiency cut funding for about $1 billion worth of U.S. Department of Agriculture programs. The two federal programs that were cut allowed schools and food banks to purchase food directly from local farmers and producers. ‘We've been seeing empty racks since February,’ Paco Velez, CEO of Feeding South Florida, told CBS News. ‘These cuts have really made an impact, not just on our ability to serve, but on the families' ability to thrive in South Florida and across the country.’” [CBS News, 5/21/25]
Experts Said DOGE Cuts To FEMA And The National Weather Service Left States Like Florida Vulnerable If A Weather Disaster Hit. According to the Associated Press, “With predictions for a busy hurricane season beginning Sunday, experts in storms and disasters are worried about something potentially as chaotic as the swirling winds: Massive cuts to the federal system that forecasts, tracks and responds to hurricanes. Experts are alarmed over the large-scale staff reductions, travel and training restrictions and grant cut-offs since President Donald Trump took office at both the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which prepares for and responds to hurricanes, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks and forecasts them. ‘My nightmare is a major catastrophic storm hitting an area that is reeling from the impact of all of this nonsense from the Trump administration and people will die. And that could happen in Florida, that could happen in Texas, that could happen in South Carolina,’ said Susan Cutter, the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina.” [Associated Press, 5/31/25]