Republican Senate Aging Committee Members Urge Biden to Reinstate SSA Commissioner Saul

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a letter to President Biden urging him to reinstate and honor the Senate confirmed, six-year term of Andrew Saul as Social Security Administration (SSA) commissioner.

Members of the Special Committee on Aging find the politically-motivated action especially worrisome as it will have drastic effects on SSA services that help millions of older Americans with basic expenses like housing, food, and medicine. 

The letter explains “Commissioner Saul was confirmed by the Senate in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in 2019… led the agency through one of the most trying periods in its history during the COVID-19 pandemic… was confirmed by the Senate to serve a full six-year term that expires in 2025 and he should have remained in his position unless removed for cause, as written in federal law.”

The committee is also requesting President Biden and his administration explain what authority an acting commissioner—not confirmed by the Senate—would possess to carry out the statutorily obligated duties of the SSA commissioner. 

The full letter can be found HERE.

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