Bernie Sanders Warns Trump Budget Could Threaten Social Security

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., issued a warning Friday about the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, saying it could restrict access to Social Security and deepen economic inequality, Newsweek reported.

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party, condemned a Republican budget bill backed by Trump, warning it will harm working-class Americans and make it harder to access Social Security.

Speaking on the Senate floor before a vote Friday, Sanders criticized the legislation and Trump’s broader agenda, including DOGE, the government efficiency initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk.

The bill passed 51-48 early Saturday morning.

In a statement to Newsweek, Sanders’ office called the proposal an “absurd budget that guts programs working-class families rely on to pay for tax cuts for the rich.”

“Maybe worst of all, at a moment when Mr. Musk and his billionaire friends are laying off thousands of workers at the Social Security Administration, closing down Social Security offices all over the country, and making it harder for people with disabilities and older people to get the benefits that they have paid into for their whole lives, this bill does nothing to address that crisis,” Sanders said.

The Social Security Administration delivers monthly benefits to roughly 70 million Americans. While Trump has pledged not to cut Social Security, critics argue his policies suggest otherwise.

Trump and Musk have defended the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as a campaign to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. Democrats warn the cuts risk weakening critical services.

“This bill actually makes income and wealth inequality much worse by providing massive tax breaks to the billionaires and the richest people in this country, driving up the national debt, and making those on top very, very happy,” Sanders said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote: “Donald Trump has betrayed the American people. And in voting for this budget bill, Senate Republicans sided with billionaires, against the middle class, in total obeisance to Donald Trump.”

Republicans argue the bill prevents a $4 trillion tax increase. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota defended it in a post on X.

“I am tired of hearing Democrats’ outrage over the fact that Republicans dared to let Americans keep more of their own money,” Thune wrote. “I’m tired of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act being characterized as a problem when the REAL problem here is Democrat spending.”

The bill includes new tax cuts, increased military and border security spending, and a $5 trillion debt ceiling hike. GOP Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine voted against it.

“I applaud President Trump and the work of @DOGE—but those efforts mean little if we keep drowning the country in debt,” Paul wrote on X.

Senator Katie Britt of Alabama added, “This budget resolution stops a $4 trillion tax hike from hitting families and small businesses. Let’s pass this and get President Trump’s agenda done!”