NY’s Senator Discusses Ramifications Of Federal Hiring Freeze On Already Understaffed Agencies Providing Services To Most Vulnerable Populations

GILLIBRAND DEMANDS ANSWERS ON TRUMP PLAN THAT WOULD PUT SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE, VA BENEFITS IN JEOPARDY

Trump Executive Order Freezes Hiring For All Civilian Federal Workers In The Executive Branch;

Order Will Have Serious Consequences for Americans Who Rely On Social Security Administration or Department of Veterans Affairs To Get Their Benefits

Editor’s note: A similar action taken by the incoming administration caused an outcry among local politicians whose constituents in some cases rely on government programs in order to survive.  These programs include food stamps, Head Start, Meals on Wheels (and other elderly home food delivery services) which are essential to many New Yorkers and residents of other states.  The funding freeze would have paused payments to all of these programs and many more. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a virtual press conference highlighting the impact that President Trump’s hiring freeze for federal workers will have on Americans receiving Social Security, Medicare benefits, or veterans’ benefits. Last year, the number of Social Security Administration employees, who process Social Security and Medicare applications, hit a 27-year low, and the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to face a severe shortage of doctors and nurses. Trump’s hiring freeze risks increasing application processing times, wait times for appointments, and hold times for phone calls. This executive order was followed by a January 28, 2025 email to two million federal employees offering them the option to resign, which would further cripple these agencies’ ability to serve the American people.

“President Trump is playing games with Americans’ retirements,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Without enough staff to process enrollments at the SSA, seniors could be forced to wait months or longer to get their Social Security or Medicare benefits. This executive order will also have dire consequences for our veterans who have served our country and who rely on staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs to get health care, disability compensation, educational benefits, and more. It worsens an existing shortage of VA doctors and nurses and will hinder veterans’ ability to get care. It is an ill-conceived, short-sighted plan that will hurt New Yorkers. I am calling on President Trump to reverse course immediately.”

The full text of Senator Gillibrand’s letter to the White House demanding answers is available here.  Below is a part of the letter:

Despite the importance of Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits, President Trump has enacted a hiring freeze that endangers the federal government’s ability to properly administer those programs.4 Under the executive order creating the hiring freeze “no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created.”5 President Trump’s hiring freeze is troubling in light of existing staff shortages at federal agencies. For example, last year the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) workforce hit a 27-year low, despite the agency’s role in processing applications for Social Security and Medicare.6

Meanwhile, in fiscal year 2024, over 86 percent of Veterans Health Administration facilities reported severe shortages for medical officers and 82 percent reported similar shortages for nurses.7 There is a clear need to boost staffing at these important agencies, rather than delay hiring or slash important roles.

Evidence suggests that a hiring freeze will hinder the ability of agencies to carry out their mission, yet President Trump’s hiring freeze provides inadequate protections for Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits. According to a nonpartisan report, earlier federal hiring freezes “ignored individual agencies’ missions, workload, and staffing requirements,” which caused “disrupted agency operations, and in some cases, increased costs to the Government.”8

President Trump’s hiring freeze explicitly exempts national security programs, but does not include Social Security, Medicare, or veterans’ programs in that exemption.9 Instead, separate language states that nothing in President Trump’s executive order “shall adversely impact the provision of Social Security, Medicare, or Veterans’ benefits.”10 The executive order does not define “adverse impact.” The use of separate, ill-defined language for Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits suggests that they are at greater risk than national security programs.

Banner Image: Cold individual. Image Credit – Thom Holmes