‘Right, Because Grandma Is On X’: Social Security Administration Sparks Outrage Over Plans To Use X To Communicate With Public

On April 10, the Social Security Administration indicated that it would be using Elon Musk’s social media platform X (Twitter) to make announcements going forward instead of posting memos or press releases to its website, which spurred some outraged reactions online.

According to Wired, the move to shift announcements entirely to its social media account comes as the SSA plans to cut nearly all its staff—as much as 87% of its staff–the move could also negatively impact the ability of remaining staffers to do their jobs.

As one anonymous employee indicated to the outlet, it is remarkable that an agency that primarily serves senior citizens seems to expect them to navigate smartphones or social media platforms to get vital updates.

“Do they really expect senior citizens will join this platform?” one current employee asked. “Most managers aren’t even on it. How isn’t this a conflict of interest?”

Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted, “Right, because Grandma is on X. This is corruption, plain and simple.”

Another employee raised concerns regarding the public going without vital updates, “This will ensure that the public does not get the information they need to stay up-to-date.”

Meanwhile, in a meeting with managers during the week of April 11, Linda Kerr-Davis, the SSA Regional Commissioner, seemed to indicate a lack of forethought about how the nation’s seniors would access necessary information.

“We are no longer planning to issue press releases or those dear colleague letters to inform the media and public about programmatic and service changes,” Kerr-Davis said. “Instead, the agency will be using X to communicate to the press and the public…so this will become our communication mechanism.”

Liz Huston, a White House spokesperson, attempted to spin both of these developments, telling Wired that their reporting was misleading.

“This reporting is misleading. The Social Security Administration is actively communicating with beneficiaries and stakeholders,” Huston said. “There has not been a reduction in workforce. Rather, to improve the delivery of services, staff are being reassigned from regional offices to front-line help – allocating finite resources where they are most needed. President Trump will continue to always protect Social Security.”

The agency currently staffs 547 employees across almost a dozen regional offices, but after the cuts, that number is expected to dwindle down to approximately 70 employees, which Kerr-Davis seemed to acknowledge would disrupt how the workload is handled by the SSA’s employees.

“We know that you all depend on these folks to manage your front line, to help with questions,” said Kerr-Davis, who works out of the Kansas City regional office. “I’m going to be pretty candid here in sharing that the support will be pretty minimal until we can stand up our skinny regional office.”

She continued, reading a question from one staffer before proceeding with her answer. “Won’t losing subject matter experts lead directly to fraud, waste, and abuse?” the staffer asked.

Kerr-Davis answered, “And yes, I mean, we do rely on [their] help…Things are going to break, and they’re going to break fast.” Kerr-Davis also indicated that the directive had come from above her pay grade, telling employees “I know this probably sounds very foreign to you. It did to me as well. It’s not what we are used to, but we are in different times now.”

RELATED CONTENT: Plans To Upend Social Security Detailed In Trump Administration Memo