From the Washington Post:
Ousted Social Security commissioner Andrew Saul, the Trump appointee who declared Friday he would defy his firing by President Biden, on Monday found his access to agency computers cut off, even as his acting replacement moved to undo his policies.
“I’m here to do the job,” Saul said from his home in Katonah, N.Y., where he had led the agency since the coronavirus pandemic forced most operations to shift in March 2020 to remote work, “but I can’t do anything with the communications shut down.”
Saul, 74, called his firing and that of his deputy David Black, in an email from the White House Personnel Office, a “palace coup” ...
“There will be more,” said Saul, a wealthy former women’s apparel executive and prominent Republican donor who had served on the board of a conservative think tank that has called for cuts to Social Security benefits. “Stay tuned.” ...
His acting successor, Biden appointee Kilolo Kijakazi, took the reins Monday and was briefed by her staff on the agency’s top priorities, advocates in touch with her office said, including much anticipated planning for the safe reopening of Social Security’s national network of 1,200 field offices. ...
Senate GOP aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss political strategy, said they plan floor speeches starting this week ... to express their dismay with the White House. ...
“It’s not like Saul was a blazing partisan,” said one Senate GOP aide. “Our view is that longer terms for agencies like this exist for a reason.” ...Republicans also said they are considering procedural actions to block any permanent Biden nominees to the agency on the Senate floor.
They are just mad because Biden is doing what they did under Trump. Remember Comey? They expect liberals not to play dirty like they do. But Biden may be different.
ReplyDeleteKarma.
A palace coup? Better Call Saul is devoid of reality.
ReplyDeleteWithout doubt Saul was a bad commissioner his first year in office: imposing his authoritative dictates before he really understood the agency or his place in it.
However from what I see his performance is greatly improved the last 15 months. He has been very reasonable in his approach to telework during the pandemic, and has stopped pushing right wing policy on CDRs and ALJ's.
Firing him now is like telling an employee that they must improve their performance or be terminated, then firing them anyway after their performance improves.
Saul had no choice about telework during the pandemic. He would have preferred to force employees to come into the office, but the Agency, like the rest, had to close. He had summarily forced thousands of field office employees to stop telework with very little notification so they had time to plan just a few months before he was forced to return them to telework. AFGE was successful in getting more time for employee transition, so they were in the office for only a few weeks. What a disruptive situation, move them back to the office and then right back home. The truth is data collected showed that productivity improved on telework, but he didn't like the "little guy" having that working condition and didn't care what the evidence showed. Since then, with full time telework, agency performance numbers have showm even greater increases in productivity. Saul, however, has chosen to lie about that, claiming that employees are abusing telework. He'll tell that to elected Republicans in Congress, regardless that the facts prove him wrong.
DeleteHe did not stop pushing his policies. There were new procedures placed on judges and staff, with little notice or union bargaining, and his officials continued to push punitive policies on employees. Government Executive has covered SSA officials' foot dragging after President Biden ordered them to start working with unions and reopening contracts where unilateral enforcement had occurred. They simply weren't doing it, pretending to cooperate while stalling. He's done a poor job and this was the right choice for the Agency and for the public.
From an employee's perspective, I would take Saul any day over what we've just been given. One need only look at our new Acting Commissioner's bio and publication history to see that we're in for a rough ride. And given that the last "Acting Commissioner" served in that role for six years, compared to an actual confirmed Commissioner who just got fired after two years, I'm not optimistic that there will be a light at the end of this tunnel until at least 2024.
ReplyDeleteNo one at SSA is really surprised, however. We all knew Saul was going to be on the chopping block. It was just a matter of when Biden was going to get around to it.
*from a Republican employee's perspective
DeleteBye Bye
ReplyDelete@6:47 Put your racist and misogynistic dog whistles where the sun don't shine. Just like the former guy, Saul was an incompetent narcissist and got what he deserved.
ReplyDelete@6:26 can you expand on that. Specifically the publication history?
ReplyDelete@ 4:30 ~I don't see any evidence that Saul has moderated his views on CDRs or ALJs. He was ORDERED to withdraw his CDR proposal during the first few hours of the Biden administration and he has already finalized and published his corrupt new Rule allowing SSA attorneys on the Appeals Council to take the place of ALJs at hearings.
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ReplyDelete8:44 I don't see anything in these comments that is "racist" or "misogynistic". Please refrain from ad hominin attacks against those who post something that you don't agree with. This is not a good look for you, and brings down the level of discourse.
@ 6:47 What is in the bio of the new acting commish shows in for a rough ride? Specifically what is it. You can argue she has been at the SSA for a long time without much improvement but not sure how much control she had anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt is the same with the election fraud. You need objective evidence to back up any kind of claims. Trump was all about "People are saying" when there is no proof. My hunch is anybody not conservative would be trashed.
Actually, this is America…objective evidence is optional nowadays.
ReplyDelete@7:02pm Sadly, you are correct. Whatever happened to folks being honest and objective? It's a lost art.
ReplyDeleteHave to say that while not shouting out "Black" "female" and "liberal" the "in for a rough ride" comment regarding the ACOSS does seem a bit dog whistley. But not sure that old, wealthy White men whose personal and professional contributions on the issue of SSA and social insurance has been for the elimination of them are the best ones to run an agency whose mission is to supply them. The ACOSS actually believes in the agency and mission. If that's a rough road, time for someone to find a better place to work.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing Saul did (or didn't) do that was not hostile to ALJs was to not appeal the arbitrator's finding that the agency negotiated in bad faith and thus ordered the entire contract between SSA and the AALJ to be re-negotiated. However, based on all his other actions I do not assign a pure motive to that, and think it might have been a strategic decision. Or perhaps just embarrassed and didn't want to further publicize the fact that bad-faith bargaining on the part of the agency was found 3 times in the last couple of years.
ReplyDeleteIf there ever is a commissioner at SSA who does anything to vastly improve the service to the public it will be the first time. Saul's dismissal means nothing in itself if the next commissioner continues the trend of being nothing more than a figure head.
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