Since Inauguration Day, President Trump has been hard at work addressing one of the biggest threats our nation faces: our $36 trillion debt. 

Unlike the last administration, the Trump administration wants to save taxpayer dollars. And so far, they have had a lot of success. To date, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has found $155 billion in potential savings for the American people by working with cabinet secretaries to review unused federal leases, wasteful contracts, and much more.

Every American should be celebrating this effort to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse because every single dollar in the treasury belongs to the American people. By being good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we can ensure that our country remains free, solvent, and sovereign for our children and grandchildren.

Yet, for weeks, Democrats and their allies in the media have baselessly attacked President Trump’s efforts to rein in spending and make government accountable to the people. 

Among their lies, Democrats have repeated the claim that Republicans and the Trump administration are using DOGE to cut Social Security benefits for our nation’s seniors. Recently on the Senate floor, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer even claimed that the “goal of Trump and [Elon] Musk is to destroy Social Security from within.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, it is Democrats who are undermining these programs by providing benefits to individuals who should have never received them. Just last year, California extended Medicaid coverage to illegal aliens, diverting care from Americans in need and contributing to the state's near $3.5 billion shortfall on Medicaid. They are among 11 blue states, as well as Washington, D.C., that provide Medicaid to more than 1 million aliens, most of whom are in our country illegally.

To set the record straight, I’ve pulled together a fact sheet that makes one thing clear: By eliminating waste and fraud, Republicans are protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

This should come as no surprise. President Trump has repeatedly committed to protecting seniors’ benefits, saying just last month: “I’m not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Now, we’re going to get fraud out of there… Everybody wants us to get the fraud out, and therefore you’ll make it better.”

That is exactly what he has done. By eliminating waste and fraud, the administration is strengthening these essential programs and making certain the benefits go to the people who deserve them. 

For example, DOGE confirmed that 1.3 million individuals who secured a fraudulent Social Security number also received Medicare benefits, stealing funds from hard working Americans who played by the rules. DOGE also sifted out 10 million cases where Social Security number holders were over the age of 120, raising serious alarm that there are fraudulent payments that are robbing American taxpayers.

While strengthening these programs, President Trump and Senate Republicans are working to deliver relief to senior citizens by cutting taxes on Social Security benefits.

Today, nearly 56 percent of retirees pay taxes on their Social Security benefits as inflation pushes seniors’ benefits into higher and higher income brackets. This is inexcusable. Social Security is funded by workers’ earnings that have already been taxed, and so many rely on the program as their primary source of income.

My RETIREES FIRST Act would address this problem by lowering the tax burden on Social Security benefits for seniors by raising the provisional income threshold from $25,000 to $34,000 for single filers and $32,000 to $68,000 for married filers. In effect, this legislation would eliminate income taxes for many of our nation’s retirees, leaving them with more money.

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are essential programs for millions of Tennesseans and Americans across the country. And as this fact sheet shows, it is Republicans—not Democrats—who are committed to protecting them.