DOGE-driven SSA staffing cuts eliminated 6,645 employees (11%) in 10 months while 47 field offices face closure, with disability claimants bearing the worst impact

From January to November 2025, SSA's workforce shrank by 6,645 employees -- an 11% reduction from FY 2024 levels. DOGE has listed 47 field offices for closure, and an internal plan targets a 50% reduction in field office visits for FY 2026 (from 30 million to 15 million). In 33 states, SSA lost at least 10% of staff. Wyoming's ratio jumped from 1 field office worker per 5,814 beneficiaries to 1 per 7,429. Why it matters: disability applicants who cannot navigate online systems lose in-person access to file claims, so elderly and cognitively disabled individuals who most need help are least able to access remote services, so initial disability claims already pending at over 1 million will grow as processing capacity shrinks, so wait times that averaged 7-8 months will extend further, so the most vulnerable Americans will be effectively unable to access benefits they are legally entitled to. The structural root cause is that SSA's budget has been treated as discretionary spending subject to annual appropriations battles rather than as mandatory administrative funding tied to the mandatory benefits it administers, creating a structural mismatch where benefit obligations grow with demographics while the administrative capacity to deliver those benefits is subject to political austerity cycles.