Warren, Schumer, Wyden, Lawmakers Press Thune, Johnson on Republican Plans to Cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid

Johnson recently indicated that Republicans have a “plan” to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid if they retain power; this week, House Republican said Congress could “get into” Social Security “Americans deserve to have full transparency into Republican plans to attack earned benefits like Social Security.” Text of Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee; and Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Representative Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) pressed Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Republican plans to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The push comes amid Republicans’ months-long assault on these critical programs for seniors and Americans with disabilities, and recent comments indicate there may be more attacks to come. Speaker Johnson recently stated publicly that Republicans have a “plan” to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid if they retain control of Congress next year, stating: “The reason we’re in trouble is because over 74% of federal spending is on autopilot, mandatory spending. That’s your entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and things like Social Security. They have to be adjusted and fixed. We have a plan to do that next year.” Just this week, another House Republican said Congress could “get into” Social Security. “Americans deserve to have full transparency into Republican plans to attack earned benefits like Social Security,” wrote the lawmakers. Since the start of President Trump’s second term, Republicans have relentlessly attacked Americans’ health insurance, retirement, and food security programs. Republicans passed legislation to rip away health coverage from roughly 15 million Americans, forced millions to lose food assistance by slashing funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), threatened to revive Bush-era efforts to privatize Social Security, and made it harder for Social Security beneficiaries to access their benefits. Now, Republicans are threatening to launch further attacks on these crucial programs. Along with his comments regarding Republicans’ “plan” to slash critical programs, Johnson has blamed programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security for the national debt. “Johnson’s defense — that he is targeting only ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ — is nothing more than a smoke-and-mirrors scheme to cover up benefit cuts,” wrote the lawmakers. “A plan you will not show the voters before they vote is not reassurance. It is a warning and revealing of Republican priorities.” The lawmakers called on Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune to reveal said plan to the American people. “Democrats have already put forward plans to rein in the cost of health care and to protect and strengthen Social Security, all without cutting benefits or ripping people away from their health care,” wrote the lawmakers. “It is time for Republicans to put their money where their mouth is and put forward their plan.” Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room coordinates Democrats’ fight to defend Social Security, encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them, and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits: In July 2026, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pressed Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano for answers on reports that SSA field offices in over a dozen states and territories are or have temporarily been “closed to the public” due to staffing and operational issues — in direct contrast with his clear commitment to “keep every field office open.” In July 2026, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) led Democratic Senators in pressing Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano for answers on why the SSA earlier this month sent a misleading, partisan email to Social Security recipients. In June 2026, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to President Trump expressing their renewed concerns that this administration is considering raising the retirement age and demanding answers. In June 2026, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), pressed Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano and three former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers on an alarming new whistleblower account detailing Trump administration plans to mark 2.7 million people as dead in a Social Security database as part of its immigration enforcement agenda. In April 2026, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Ranking Member on the Senate Special Committee on Aging Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) led a coalition of over 100 Congressional Democrats in writing to the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), Leland Dudek , to demand that he keep Social Security field offices open. In April 2026, Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room, led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), published a new report highlighting how, in its first year, it has fought to protect Americans’ Social Security benefits. In March 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Dan Adcock of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare about Republicans’ plans to raise the retirement age. In March 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Special Committee on Aging Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) launched a new investigation into the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) ongoing customer service crisis reaching new extremes, the latest from Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room. In March 2026, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representatives Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), and James Moylan (R-GU) led over 30 lawmakers in introducing the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Restoration Act , a bipartisan bill to strengthen critical SSI benefits that support nearly 8 million seniors and Americans with disabilities. In December 2025, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and U.S. Representative Gabe Amo (D-RI-01) introduced the Social Security Survivor Benefits Equity Act, bicameral legislation to increase the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) lump-sum death benefit, which covers costs associated with cremation or burials for surviving family members, to account for inflation. In December 2025, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee; Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, wrote to Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano , pressing him on reports that the agency has a new goal of slashing field office visits by nearly 15 million annually. In November 2025, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), both leading members of the Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room, launched a probe into Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano’s tenure as chief executive officer at Fiserv. In October 2025, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) in introducing the Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act . In September 2025, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, and Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room leaders today introduced the Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act . In July 2025, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a leader of the Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room, secured key commitments and admissions from Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano during a private meeting. In June 2025, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, pressed top Trump administration officials on how President Trump’s chaotic tariffs — paired with his efforts to dismantle the Social Security Administration — are harming America’s seniors. In May 2025, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member on the Senate Aging Committee, pressed new Commissioner of the Social Security Administration Frank Bisignano on reported plans to recategorize thousands of workers as Schedule F “policy-making” employees. In May 2025, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) welcomed newly-confirmed Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Frank Bisignano to the agency with copies of 17 letters — containing nearly 200 unanswered questions — the lawmakers had previously sent to the SSA under Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek. ###