In 2025, Garrity praised Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” as DOGE-driven cuts and downsizing were affecting the federal government’s ability to deliver services to seniors. Nearly 3 million Pennsylvanians relied on Social Security benefits.
Garrity promoted DOGE even though it resulted in federal funding cuts to Pennsylvania agencies and universities, and impacted food banks and farmers. Garrity supported DOGE cuts as Trump threatened the livelihoods of approximately 75,000 federal workers in Pennsylvania.
2025: Garrity Supported Trump’s DOGE: “Who Here Is Excited About What Elon And DOGE Are Doing… Well, Guess What? My Office Is Doing That Right Here In Pennsylvania.” According to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, “Garrity, serving her second term as state Treasurer, and Meuser, who was the Secretary of Revenue under former Gov. Tom Corbett, both touted their experience with leading offices tasked with handling taxpayer dollars. They talked about that as an asset for Pennsylvanians, while also promoting the cuts to the federal government made by billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). ‘Who here is excited about what Elon and DOGE are doing,’ Garrity asked to the crowd which applauded. ‘Well, guess what? My office is doing that right here in Pennsylvania.’” [Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Stops Reporting Call Wait Times And Other Metrics" [Washington Post, 6/20/25]
HEADLINE: "As Social Security Services Are Cut Back, Millions Of Seniors Face Long Drives" [Axios, 6/8/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Website Keeps Crashing, As DOGE Demands Cuts To IT Staff" [Washington Post, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Faces Thousands More Job Cuts Even With Service In Tailspin" [Washington Post, 4/4/25]
The Center On Budget And Policy Priorities Said The Trump Administration Had Pushed Out 7,000 Social Security Workers. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Over the past five months, the Trump Administration has forced the Social Security Administration (SSA) through a radical transformation that threatens to disrupt services for the largely older and severely disabled people who most rely on the agency.[1] The Trump Administration and its so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have created huge gaps in customer service and support by indiscriminately pushing out 7,000 workers to hit an arbitrary staffing reduction target. This is the largest staffing cut in SSA’s history.[2] (See Figure 1.)" [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 6/23/25]
The Social Security Administration Website Crashed Four Times In Ten Days In March 2025 Because Servers Were Overloaded. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Field Office Managers At Social Security Offices Had To Answer Phones In Place Of Receptionists Because DOGE Had Pushed Out So Many Federal Employees. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
DOGE Eliminated The Social Security Administration’s System To Monitor Customer Experience. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Early February-Late March 2025: AARP Said More Than 2,000 People Per Week Had Called Expressing Concerns About Whether They Would Continue To Get Their Social Security Benefits. According to the Washington Post, "Alarmed lawmakers are straining to answer questions back home from angry constituents. Calls have flooded into congressional offices. AARP announced Monday that more than 2,000 people a week have called the retiree organization since early February — double the usual number — with concerns about whether benefits they paid for during their working careers will continue. Social Security is the primary source of income for about 40 percent of older Americans." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
In Pennsylvania, 2,981,684 Pennsylvanians Relied On Social Security Benefits. According to the Social Security Administration, in 2024, 2,981,684 Pennsylvanians received Social Security benefits. [Social Security Administration, PA, 2024]
2025: Governor Shapiro Sued The Trump Administration After The Government Tried To Freeze More Than $1.2 Billion In Grant Funding To Pennsylvania Agencies And Review An Additional $900 Million In Grant Funding. According to City & State Pennsylvania, “This week Gov. Josh Shapiro sued the Trump administration over its decision to freeze federal funding, asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to issue an injunction that prevents federal agencies from freezing, pausing or interfering with the disbursement of congressionally appropriated funding. The lawsuit alleges more than $1.2 billion in grant funding to Pennsylvania government agencies is currently suspended, and that another $900 million in grant funding is currently identified as needing further review.” [City & State Pennsylvania, 2/14/25]
2025: National Institutes Of Health Funding Cap Rate Cuts To 15 Percent Also Threatened $240 Million In Annual Federal Funding For The University Of Pennsylvania. According to City & State Pennsylvania, “On the heels of a funding cut made by the National Institutes of Health that seeks to cap rates on research grants to universities at 15%, research universities across the commonwealth are expressing concerns over the impact the move could have on their respective programs. J. Larry Jameson, the interim president of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that the decision could have major consequences for the Ivy League institution. ‘The effect of this sudden and major change in research support will be to severely harm our highly impactful research mission,’ he wrote in a Feb. 11 message on Penn’s website. ‘These cuts by NIH will affect universities across the country, and we continue to explore legal options to address these reductions.’ Jameson estimated that the move could result in a loss of $240 million in annual federal funding for the university.” [City & State Pennsylvania, 2/14/25]
2025: DOGE Cuts Also Threatened $35.2 Million In Federal Funding For The Pennsylvania State University. According to City & State Pennsylvania, “Officials at Pennsylvania State University have also publicly expressed their worries. Andrew F. Read, Penn State’s senior vice president for research, and Dr. Karen E. Kim, dean of Penn State’s College of Medicine, said that the university could lose a total of $35.2 million if the decision holds. ‘The loss of these funds will substantially reduce our ability to conduct groundbreaking research, particularly in the health sciences,’ the two university leaders said in a statement. For the time being, a federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the NIH cut from taking effect.” [City & State Pennsylvania, 2/14/25]
HEADLINE: “DOGE Hits Pennsylvania Food Banks And Farmers” [Axios, 4/2/25]
DOGE’s Funding Freezes Impacted Food Banks In Pennsylvania, Including The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank And Allentown Area Ecumenical Food Bank Due To Federal Local Food Purchasing Program Cuts. and According to City & State Pennsylvania, “Pennsylvania food banks are also feeling the pinch from the Trump administration’s funding pause. Joe Arthur, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, told PennLive this week that the freeze has disrupted the federal Local Food Purchasing Program. ‘Right now, we have to pause our farm acquisition because we can’t take the risk of not being reimbursed for hundreds of thousands of dollars,’ Arthur told the outlet. ‘Federal funding is definitely important to our mission. We’re monitoring it very, very closely.’ Meanwhile, in Allentown, Anne Egan, the executive director of the Allentown Area Ecumenical Food Bank, told WFMZ that the move is ‘devastating’ to the food bank and that the pantry is running short on produce.” [City & State Pennsylvania, 2/14/25]
2025: Pennsylvania Department Of Labor And Industry: Prior To DOGE Layoffs, Approximately 75,000 Federal Workers Resided In Pennsylvania, Excluding Post Office Workers Or Military Members. According to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, “Buchheit was one of hundreds of federal workers in Pennsylvania, and tens of thousands across the country, who have lost their jobs as a result of cost-cutting measures implemented by Trump and overseen by billionaire mega-donor Elon Musk. Mostly, they were probationary workers — meaning they were in their first year or so of employment, and didn’t have the job protections of their more senior colleagues. Before the layoffs, the commonwealth was home to around 75,000 federal workers, not including post office workers or military members, according to data provided by the state Department of Labor and Industry.” [Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 3/17/25]
2025: Federal Workers In Pennsylvania Struggled With Layoff Impacts, Including Reduced Staff, Hostile And Unpredictable Workplaces, Fear Of Retaliation, And Stress. According to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, “Federal workers still on the job in Pennsylvania have struggled with the impact of the layoffs too. Beyond having to make up for a reduced staff, some feel their workplace has become hostile and unpredictable. ‘Every day I go to work, I feel like I could be fired,’ said a Department of Energy employee who works at the same lab Buchheit did. She was granted anonymity because of fears of retaliation. Buchheit’s colleague was also a probationary employee, and can’t see any reason why he was laid off and she wasn’t. Both had excellent performance reviews. ‘Everybody was coming up with these theories,’ she said. ‘It was brilliantly executed, if the goal was to cause people a lot of stress.’” [Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 3/17/25]
2025: DOGE Cuts Targeted More Than 65,000 Federal Workers In Pennsylvania, Which Made About 2 Percent Of Pennsylvania’s Workforce. According to Penn Live, “With more than 65,000 federal workers in Pennsylvania, a good government group is warning that Trump administration workforce cuts could have a serious impact on the state. ‘The turmoil that is being generated by (the Department of Government Efficiency) and the new administration has got real implications for what’s happening in Pennsylvania,’ said Max Stier, the president and CEO of Partnership for Public Service (PPS), in a video call with reporters on Friday. According to the group, those 65,000 federal workers make up about 2% of Pennsylvania’s workforce, which Stier said is a higher percentage than average among states.” [Penn Live, 4/15/25]