Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said the GOP is focused on cutting taxes and improving the federal government’s finances, telling NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Sunday that while cuts to “entitlements” are not explicitly mentioned in the recent House budget bill, Elon Musk has uncovered “enormous amounts of fraud, waste, and abuse” in Social Security.Why It MattersSocial Security is a federal program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to eligible workers and their families. In 2023, around 71.6 million people received benefits from programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the agency reported.Although President Donald Trump has pledged not to cut Social Security, some skeptics remain concerned he may reconsider, especially given the recent involvement of his close adviser Musk, and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force digging into federal agencies to root out waste, fraud and abuse. Concerns have grown among Democrats after Musk on Friday called Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”The SSA, which started in 1935, faces a funding crisis that could leave the program unable to pay full benefits by the mid-2030s.What To Know During a Sunday interview appearance on Meet the Press, Welker asked Johnson about the budget resolution that narrowly passed the House on Tuesday, which seeks billions in cuts over the coming years, asking, “Are cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security off the table?”The top House Republican replied, “yes,” adding that “there’s not one mention of Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security, it’s not in the bill.”The bill does not explicitly mention Medicaid, however, it instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which legislates on the program, to identify at least $880 billion worth of cuts, with many Democrats and critics suggesting will come from Medicaid.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said the “budget resolution will set in motion the largest Medicaid cut in American history. It’s outrageous.”Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other health care programs made up nearly 75 percent of mandatory spending last year, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).Noting the bleak state of fiscal affairs in the U.S., including the country’s $36 trillion debt, Johnson said that it’s possible to get the country’s fiscal affairs in order and implement tax cuts “simultaneously and not effect benefits for anyone who relies upon those and is eligible to receive them.”He said Republican lawmakers and Musk are focused on “ensuring efficiencies, ensuring that the programs are strengthened so that they can remain solvent and help the people they are intended to help.”Johnson later noted that Musk is finding “enormous amounts of fraud waste and abuse” in Social Security and that “we have a moral responsibility to ensure that those programs are conducted in a way that does not allow for this massive fraud and abuse and that is what he is finding.”Trump and Musk have both criticized Social Security and at times pointed to inflated fraud figures. While cases of benefit fraud have occurred, fewer than 1 percent were reported in July 2024 by the SSA inspector general.In a Friday episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast with around 11 million listeners, Musk told host Joe Rogan that Social Security is “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”
From left: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, walks with Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, who is carrying his son, on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 5, 2024.
From left: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, walks with Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, who is carrying his son, on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 5, 2024.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
What People Are SayingPresident Donald Trump said in a February Fox interview: “Social Security won’t be touched, other than this fraud or something we’re going to find. It’s going to be strengthened but won’t be touched.”In reference to Medicare and Medicaid, he said “none of that stuff is going to be touched.”Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, wrote in an X post on Saturday: “Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme it’s a promise that every American pays into so they can retire with dignity. Get loud and tell Elon Musk to keep his hands OFF social security.”Speaker Mike Johnson said in an X post on February 26: “Medicaid is for single mothers with small children who are just trying to make it. It’s not for 29-year-old males sitting on their couch playing video games. We’re going to find those guys, and we will SEND them back to work!
Representative Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, wrote on Saturday in an X post: “A guy who makes $8 million a day off the government thinks seniors getting $65 a day they worked their whole lives to earn is a ‘ponzi scheme.’ Protect Social Security. Fire Elon Musk.”Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, previously echoed Musk’s comments about SSA, writing in a February 2023 X post: “Unfortunately, Social Security surpluses were spent and never invested in assets that have value to the U.S. Government. It is a legal Ponzi scheme. Now, the greatest threat to these programs is out of control deficit spending and our growing debt.”What Happens Next? On Friday, the SSA announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs, reducing its workforce from about 57,000 to 50,000 employees. The decision follows DOGE recommendations to slash the federal workforce. However, it also comes as the agency already struggles with staffing shortages.Agencies are required to submit their reduction in force plans (RIF) to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by March 13.The budget bill is under consideration by the U.S. Senate.
