'This Chaos Cannot Continue': Patty Murray Slams The Trump Admin Over Social Security Changes

Forbes Breaking News

At a Senate Democratic press briefing on Tuesday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke about the Trump administration.

Transcript

00:00Senator Murray.

00:04Well, Trump's first few months in office have been nothing but chaos.

00:09His definition of fixing things is breaking them and then lying about it.

00:14Look no further than Social Security and the VA.

00:17I just heard from a constituent who called their local Social Security office for three straight days

00:25and could not get an answer.

00:26So they drove to a field office where every seat was filled.

00:32By 8 in the morning, an hour before the office opened, people started lining up,

00:37and by 3.30 that afternoon, people started getting turned away.

00:41Best they could do was sign up for a later appointment.

00:45Why?

00:46Because the office was staffed by just one person.

00:49That is what happens when Trump pushes out thousands of Social Security workers with no plan.

00:57That's what happens when Trump pulls people off of casework to answer phones.

01:03And that's what happens when Republicans blow trillions on tax breaks for billionaires

01:08while Doge penny pitches by gutting Social Security.

01:13Here's a message for Donald Trump.

01:15Seniors in this country who need their Social Security do not want to deal with an AI chatbot.

01:23The people pay for Social Security.

01:26The government owes the people that money.

01:28It is not Donald Trump's money.

01:31When you make it nearly impossible for Americans to get their benefits, that is a benefit cut.

01:39This chaos cannot continue.

01:42Meanwhile, we have a VA secretary who seems to be more interested in picking fights with me on social media

01:49than taking any accountability for his actual job.

01:53He fired thousands upon thousands of random probationary employees, and VA had to scramble to rehire.

02:02Therapists in treating PTSD have been forced now to work in open-air office cubicles where everyone can hear them.

02:13VA contracts have been canceled with seemingly no one checking what they are for first,

02:19including a cancer registry in my state.

02:23Doug Collins still can't give us a straight answer about how many contracts have been terminated.

02:30And he is celebrating that he's driven 30,000 VA employees out the door.

02:37Hundreds of doctors and more than 1,700 registered nurses have quit because of Collins and Trump.

02:44And when veterans share their concerns, like after Doug Collins explicitly removed language requiring VA doctors to care for veterans

02:55regardless of their politics or marital status, the answer from him is, don't worry, we'll fix it.

03:02It's not, it is, the answer isn't, sorry, we're going to fix that.

03:06He says, don't worry, it doesn't matter.

03:10It doesn't matter.

03:11So why did he do it in the first place, and why not just put those protections back in?

03:16Here's the thing to understand about the Trump administration.

03:20These people have the wrong incentives and the wrong priorities.

03:25They will never admit a mistake, and they will always pick a fight.

03:30Every cabinet member is focused on social media and confrontation.

03:35Every failure is an opportunity to double down and lie about how you're actually making America great.

03:41They care more about getting a pat on the head from Donald Trump for a viral moment than about the chaos they are creating for regular people.

03:51Americans feel that chaos.

03:53You can't just fix that by going on Fox and saying it doesn't exist.

03:57You can't spin seniors wondering why they're waiting longer than ever for getting help with Social Security.

04:05And you cannot spin VA psychologists who treat and who veterans trust and rely on quitting because the workplace is so toxic now.

04:16The American people have a way of making themselves heard.

04:20For my part, I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:23For my part, I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:24I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:25I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:26I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:27I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:28I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:29I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:30I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:31I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:32I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:33I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:34I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:35I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:36I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:37I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:38I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:39I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

04:40I'm going to keep lifting up their voices.

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