“I’ve Called For Days”; “We Came From A Long Ways Away” ; “I Didn’t Know He Was Going To Pull This”

      From the New York Times:

The line started forming outside the Social Security office in suburban Glendale, Ariz., not long after sunrise, dozens of retirees and people with disabilities, shuffling papers, some leaning on walkers, all anxious to know whether President Trump’s government overhaul had put their safety nets at risk.

When 9 a.m. came, an employee emerged from the building with fliers asking the crowd to come back — once they had scheduled an appointment.

“I’ve called for days!” one woman yelled.

“We came from a long ways away,” said another. Still another let everyone know they had been handed a load of bunk, though she used a more colorful term. …

Those difficulties come as a deadline looms, imposed under the influence of Mr. Musk’s cost-cutting initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency as the billionaire presidential adviser crusades against what he imagines to be legions of beneficiaries who do not qualify for Social Security benefits. On April 14, the agency plans to largely phase out phone services for people filing for retirement and survivor benefits or changing their direct deposit information, forcing them to file online or come into the office, part of the administration’s broader effort to combat fraud that it has done little to prove exists.

The Social Security Administration could end up exempting some from the edict, but as April 14 approaches, calls to the agency have risen by 30 percent compared with last year, and more callers are getting busy signals or being disconnected, according to data published by Social Security. … 

“I didn’t know he was going to pull this,” said Teresa Boswell, whose vote for Mr. Trump in November helped flip Arizona, but who found herself fuming outside the Social Security office in Glendale last week, unable to sign up for $1,200 in monthly benefits after she retired from her job processing legal papers. “This is a joke.” … 

The White House has grown worried enough about the political fallout from the long lines and wait times that White House officials are pressuring Social Security administrators to reduce the information they put online that could draw attention to problems, according to a person briefed on the discussions. …