GOP lawmaker promises massive cuts to 'many more' federal agencies 'like Social Security'

13 February

One Republican member of the House of Representatives is now openly warning that his party plans to go after the political third rail of Social Security.

During Thursday's markup session in the House Budget Committee, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — who is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus — celebrated efforts by tech billionaire Elon Musk to slash federal agency budgets and fire federal workers. He then suggested that this was just the beginning of what could be even steeper spending cuts, including to sacred cows like the Social Security Administration.

"We've got many more to come, like Social Security," he said. "We have many more to come, like the Department of Education."

So far, Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE (which is not yet a Congressionally authorized federal agency) has only cut roughly $2 billion in discretionary spending on specific line items, with that figure jumping to $6 billion when including federal grants for medical research according to the Washington Post's calculations. This is just 0.1% of the $2 trillion figure Musk initially identified as his goal for spending cuts.

If DOGE aims to get close to the $2 trillion figure, it will have to target "mandatory spending," which is much harder to cut compared to discretionary spending. Mandatory spending includes earned benefits like Social Security, Medicare, veterans' benefits and interest on the national debt, and constitutes a significant portion of the total pie that encompasses all federal spending.

Other Republicans have also identified Social Security as a target for cuts. In December, former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) openly hoped that Republicans would raise the retirement age as well as implement reforms to Social Security that "allow some of this to be privatized." Alex Lawson, who is the executive director of Social Security Works, told AlterNet that "Norman is just the latest Republican to tell us their plan."

"If you listen to the financial press, where Republicans are talking to their bosses the billionaires, they openly talk about coming for 'mandatory' spending. That is just a code word for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," Lawson said. The Republicans are crystal clear when talking to Wall Street about what their plan is: Massive tax handouts to billionaires and corporations paired with massive cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and yes Social Security too.”

Watch Norman's remarks below, or by clicking this link.

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