{"id":2412694,"date":"2025-03-12T06:14:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T10:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-muddies-trumps-messaging-on-social-security-medicare-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-12T06:17:43","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T10:17:43","slug":"musk-muddies-trumps-messaging-on-social-security-medicare-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-muddies-trumps-messaging-on-social-security-medicare-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk muddies Trump&#8217;s messaging on Social Security, Medicare &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmusk-muddies-trumps-messaging-on-social-security-medicare-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2412694&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article \u2063discusses how Elon Musk&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disney-cuts-marvel-entertainment-chair-ike-perlmutter-following-massive-layoffs\/\" title=\"Disney ...s Marvel Entertainment Chair Ike Perlmutter Following Massive Layoffs\">cost-cutting initiatives<\/a> at the Department of Government Efficiency \u2063are \u2064complicating president Donald Trump\u2019s \u2064commitments to protect Social Security and Medicare. While Trump has promised not to cut these politically sensitive entitlement\u2063 programs, Musk claims \u200cthat they are plagued by considerable \u200bwaste, estimating that $700 \u200dbillion could be\u2064 wasted annually. This has raised concerns \u2063among Democrats, who argue that such claims serve as a pretext for slashing benefits that millions rely on, particularly seniors.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Republicans are expressing their concerns\u2064 about Musk\u2019s approach, advocating for a more surgical \u2063method of cutting waste without harming benefits.While some GOP senators,like Josh Hawley,emphasize the\u2064 importance of not cutting\u200b benefits,they support targeting fraud and waste. Moreover, \u2062the \u2063White House has asserted that \u2063Musk&#8217;s comments should not lead to changes in benefits, reaffirming Trump&#8217;s opposition to any cuts.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Musk&#8217;s insistence \u2064on the need to eliminate waste within entitlement programs, critics, including Senate minority Leader\u2063 Chuck Schumer, argue that his claims are misleading and could \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-intel-republican-warns-russian-space-weapon-may-blind-u-s-economy-and-military\/\" title=\"GOP Rep. cautions against Russian space weapon potentially crippling US economy and military\">jeopardize essential services<\/a> for vulnerable populations. The article highlights the complexities surrounding the balance of eliminating waste in government spending while protecting crucial social safety nets.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Musk muddies Trump&rsquo;s messaging on Social Security and Medicare<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2034393\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President Donald Trump&rsquo;s promises to safeguard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/social-security\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Social Security\">Social Security<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/medicare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Medicare <\/a>are being complicated by his close adviser Elon Musk&rsquo;s far<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">-reaching cost-cutting efforts<\/a> at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency.<\/p>\n<p>The popular entitlements, which are considered politically untouchable by many in Congress, came with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3338765\/musk-tries-smooth-tensions-congress-doge-cuts-recissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"warning label from Republican senators\">warning label from Republican senators<\/a> for DOGE not to slash benefits as Democrats look to make the administration&rsquo;s handling of the programs a wedge matter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3342427\/fentanyl-role-trump-trade-war-with-canada\/\">Fentanyl&#8217;s role in Trump&#8217;s trade war with Canada explained<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3344144\/dalai-lama-reincarnation-outside-china-ccp-illegal\/\">Dalai Lama says reincarnation will be outside China, CCP says that&#8217;s illegal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3344726\/north-korea-ballistic-missiles-us-south-korea-joint-drills\/\">North Korea fires ballistic missiles as the US and South Korea conduct joint military drills<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;We all want to cut the Executive Branch of government, but we want to do it more like a surgical approach, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all,&rdquo; Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;I think that they&rsquo;re finding that out right now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Musk has gone a step further than Trump&rsquo;s pledges not to cut Social Security or Medicare by saying they are rife with as much as $700 billion annually in waste despite internal government audits of improper payments showing the figure is but a fraction.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The&nbsp;waste and fraud&nbsp;in entitlement spending &mdash; which most of the federal spending is entitlements &mdash; so, that&rsquo;s the big one to eliminate,&rdquo; Musk told <em>FOX Business<\/em>&lsquo;s Larry Kudlow, Trump&rsquo;s first-term National Economic Council director, on Monday. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the sort of&nbsp;half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Musk told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that DOGE would &ldquo;be very careful&rdquo; with benefits, that targeting waste may &ldquo;actually preserve those programs for the future,&rdquo; and advocated privatizing more government jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, flanked by Musk, added, &ldquo;The country will be much stronger.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Democrats said the rhetoric is a guise for taking an axe to benefits that tens of millions of Americans receive each year, the vast majority of who are senior citizens.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a pretext to slashing them, but it&rsquo;s false.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The White House has vehemently denied that Musk&rsquo;s comments extend beyond vaguely defined waste, fraud, and abuse &mdash; terms that Democratic critics have said the administration has overly broad meanings for. Officials have also reaffirmed Trump&rsquo;s opposition to altering benefits. Trump&rsquo;s first-term budget proposals sought to slash Social Security&rsquo;s disability program but left intact its benefits for retirees.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What kind of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/murphy-tries-to-take-middle-ground-in-new-jersey-senate-race-by-refusing-to-endorse-democrat-kim-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Murphy tries to take middle ground in New Jersey Senate race by refusing to endorse Democrat Kim - Washington Examiner\">person doesn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending that ultimately costs taxpayers more?&rdquo; an unnamed White House official said in a press release sent Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk talk with reporters near Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Washington. (Pool via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Still, Republicans are making clear that their support for Musk and DOGE is not without limits. The tech icon sought to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3338765\/musk-tries-smooth-tensions-congress-doge-cuts-recissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">smooth over rough edges<\/a> with GOP senators last week during a private meeting about his role in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-tries-to-smooth-over-tensions-with-republicans-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Musk tries to smooth over ...ions with Republicans - Washington Examiner\">slashing federal workers<\/a> and government spending. Some Republicans have grown impatient with the administration&rsquo;s attempts to unilaterally dismantle agencies, programs, and contracts by revoking funds. Congress has already appropriated it, but there remains broad approval for most of the administration&rsquo;s efforts to root out wasteful spending.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it was pretty clear that they were listening to what we had to say with regard to anecdotally if you make a mistake, it can make your ongoing process much more difficult, and you could hurt somebody personally,&rdquo; Rounds said.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), a staunch defender of Medicaid, the government-run healthcare for lower-income Americans, noted Congress would need to approve any benefit changes to Social Security or Medicare.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If the fraud is significant and it&rsquo;s going to folks who don&rsquo;t qualify for the program, it&rsquo;s taking away funds from people who do qualify. I&rsquo;m all for that,&rdquo; Hawley said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not for cutting benefits in any way, shape, or form, and I absolutely will not vote for that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Social Security and Medicare are the federal government&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/fiscaldata.treasury.gov\/americas-finance-guide\/federal-spending\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">costliest programs<\/a>. They account for 21% and 15% of the budget, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>The government watchdog for the Social Security Administration <a href=\"https:\/\/oig.ssa.gov\/news-releases\/2024-08-19-ig-reports-nearly-72-billion-improperly-paid-recommended-improvements-go-unimplemented\/#:~:text=From%20FYs%202015%20through%202022,overpayment%20balance%20of%20%2423%20billion.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">concluded<\/a> last year that there were nearly $72 billion in improper payments from 2015 to 2022 or less than 1% of total benefits paid during the time period. A 2023 audit found almost 19 million Americans more than 100 years old still listed as alive in the SSA&rsquo;s system, with 44,000 of them still receiving payments. Social Security is <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/RL\/RL33\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">estimated<\/a> to go insolvent by 2035.<\/p>\n<p>Improper payments for Medicare were far higher on a percentage basis. They totaled more than $54 billion for fiscal 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/newsroom\/fact-sheets\/fiscal-year-2024-improper-payments-fact-sheet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">according to the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services<\/a>, or almost 15% of total benefits.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3315975\/doge-doing-across-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) suggested Musk should &ldquo;step into the technology side&rdquo; to weed out improper payments. Government agencies for both programs have said such payments, which are defined as overpayments,&nbsp;underpayments,&nbsp;or&nbsp;payments&nbsp;with&nbsp;insufficient&nbsp;information, do not necessarily equate to waste, fraud, or abuse.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re able to identify, like [DOGE] did with Treasury, lots of accounts that have no direction, we don&rsquo;t know where the money&rsquo;s going at all, everybody agrees with that,&rdquo; Lankford said. &ldquo;But before you shut down offices &mdash; Social Security offices, for instance &mdash; we need to find out, is that actually a necessary office? How is it used? What&rsquo;s the history of that?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2034393\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2034393\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Musk complicates Trump&#8217;s stance on Social Security and Medicare<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2412695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/musk-complicates-trumps-social-security-medicare-messaging.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4159,4250,33104,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2412694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-medicare","tag-musk","tag-social-security","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/musk-complicates-trumps-social-security-medicare-messaging.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2412694"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2412698,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412694\/revisions\/2412698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2412695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2412694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2412694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2412694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}