President Donald Trump announced significant reforms to the Social Security Administration during a Thursday ceremony commemorating the agency’s 90th anniversary.
The administration has removed hundreds of thousands of individuals from the system who were not legally eligible to receive benefits.
Trump revealed that his administration has removed nearly 275,000 non-citizens from the Social Security system.
The president made these announcements while signing a proclamation in the Oval Office celebrating the Social Security Administration’s milestone anniversary.
“We’ve already kicked nearly 275,000 illegal aliens off of the Social Security system,” Trump stated during the ceremony.
The president emphasized that many of these individuals had already departed the United States while continuing to receive government payments.
“These are people, many of them have already left the country, and yet we were sending them checks all the time,” Trump explained.
The Social Security Administration confirmed the president’s statements regarding the system cleanup.
An SSA spokesperson provided verification of the administration’s efforts.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, SSA updated the Social Security records of about 275,000 individuals no longer holding legal status, ensuring people ineligible to receive benefits are not improperly paid,” the spokesperson told reporters.
The Social Security Administration clarified that only lawfully present noncitizens who meet all eligibility requirements can qualify for Social Security benefits.
This policy ensures that government resources are directed toward legally eligible recipients. The agency’s verification processes are designed to prevent fraudulent claims and protect taxpayer dollars from being distributed to ineligible individuals.
The administration’s cleanup efforts represent a significant shift in how the government approaches benefit verification.
Officials have implemented more stringent oversight measures to ensure that Social Security payments reach only those who are legally entitled to receive them under federal law.
Trump addressed the broader scope of Social Security’s reach across America.
The president noted that nearly 60 million Americans “rely on Social Security, the safety net that provides retirees with regular payments.”
This massive program represents one of the federal government’s largest expenditures and serves as a critical income source for millions of American families.
The scale of the Social Security system underscores the importance of maintaining accurate records and preventing fraud.
With tens of millions of beneficiaries receiving monthly payments, even small percentages of ineligible recipients can result in substantial financial losses for taxpayers.
The president criticized the previous administration’s handling of Social Security, according to Daily Mail reporting.
“Under Biden, Social Security went down like nobody’s ever seen. It deteriorated,” Trump declared during the ceremony.
The administration has positioned these reforms as necessary corrections to years of inadequate oversight and management.
During the event, Trump discussed eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits. However, his aide Will Scharf corrected the president, explaining that a vast majority of Americans will not pay taxes on these benefits under current regulations.
The Social Security Administration was established in 1935 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The program was created to assist Americans during the Great Depression by providing financial support for retirees and disabled individuals.
Trump also announced the removal of over 12 million individuals aged 120 or older from the SSA system.
These impossibly old beneficiaries were identified through government efficiency efforts initiated earlier in the administration.
WATCH:
