Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just let the Republican plan to privatize Social Security slip during a policy event with Breitbart News. Bessent, commenting on the so-called “Trump account” program passed by Republicans in Congress and signed into law by Donald Trump, admitted that the accounts are a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
Bessent’s comments come after six months of the Trump administration sabotaging the Social Security Administration (SSA) and attempting to conceal the evidence of how dysfunctional the system has become.
Under the Trump administration’s agenda to gut the federal government, the SSA has lost more than 10% of its workforce. For months, call centers have been overwhelmed, wait times have soared, and in-person access has shrunk.
The administration has made it harder than ever for seniors, disabled Americans, and other vulnerable beneficiaries to access the benefits they’ve earned – and now we know why.
“Republicans think if they make the SSA inoperable by firing critical staffers and make it nearly impossible to get the help you need, they can deem it all beyond repair and privatize the entire program, so their billionaire friends can make a fortune off the backs of some of the most vulnerable Americans,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Brandon Weathersby. “Scott Bessent just admitted what Trump and Republicans have been hiding all along: their plan was never to protect and strengthen Social Security; it was to dismantle it, take benefits away from seniors and the working-class, and turn the program into a cash cow for the ultra-rich.”
Published: Jul 30, 2025