From a press release:
With the Biden Administration blitzing the federal government with lame duck appointments and rulemakings that inject politics into a presidential transition, Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) is urging Social Security Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin to postpone making an appointment of the Social Security Chief Actuary following the current one’s retirement. ...
As Smith writes:
“Even the appearance of politics can erode the public’s trust in the Social Security Administration and its programs, and attempts to use the Office of the Chief Actuary for partisan purposes highlight the dangers of perceived bias. Acting during a transitional period amplifies these concerns. Ideally, this decision should be made by the next Senate-confirmed Commissioner, who is uniquely positioned to make this decision in an accountable manner due to the rigorous vetting and confirmation process, which engenders increased public confidence. Deferring this decision would signal a commitment to impartiality and transparency, which the American people expect and deserve.” ...
The message I hear is "Don't make a routine appointment now. That would be political. Instead, hold off so we can make a political appointment later."
Last time I checked, Joe Biden is still President.
11 comments:
In my opinion, the Chief Actuary is the most important position in the Social Security Administration - far more important than the Commissioner.
That is what I hate about politics. Spin to fit your situation. Who cares about consistency. If only the media and public would hold them accountable for shifting demands in the wind however it best suits them.
The hypocrisy of the right truly knows no bounds.
Now wait a minute... When Biden fired Saul and appointed his own guy you all were talking about how it was justified and totally okay. Now if Trump were to do the same the rules have changed? The hypocrisy of the left is stunning.
@8:56 Let the people who tried to get Matt Gaetz to be AG pick the SSA Chief Actuary? No thank you. I'd rather have someone who can count past their number of fingers and toes.
If the Congressman spent even half as much time on actually fixing Social Security with bipartisan policy as he does trying to replace dedicated civil servants with political loyalists, there would be no shortfall.
Anonymous8:56 PM, January 02, 2025, I totally agree with you.
The chief actuary isn't a political appointment and has no term. The previous one had been there for decades, including the whole last Trump administration. I have no problem based on Supreme Court precdent with a president firing a Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner. But this is different. There is a perfectly good deputy chief actuary who could be promoted; she's been there a long time and seems extremely competent and apolitical. Trump can nominate a Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, IG, public trustees, and SSAB members and get those through the Senate. But career roles are different.
Same party, same crap, different day. When SCOTUS Judge Scalia died unexpectedly in 2016, Republicans stonewalled Obama's nominee 293 days with lame justifications that the new president should choose as "the will of the people". Yet, when SCOTUS Justice Ginsburg died with less than 120 days in Trump's term, Republicans wasted no time to ram through their candidate. And now we come full circle to this again. Call a pig a pig and do the right thing.
Charles, I like your take. 10:30 got it right.
Colvin already announced on 12/20 that the Deputy Actuary would become Chief Actuary.
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