Trump Breaks Major Social Security Promise But Cuts Deeply Into Medicaid
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By Eleanor Tolbert
President Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill combines several promises he made during his campaign with various tax cuts and credits. But there’s one Social Security promise that didn’t seem to make the package.
The bill narrowly passed the House last week, and now it’s headed to the Senate. Several of Trump’s past supporters, including Elon Musk and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), have been critical of the bill, saying it will increase the federal deficit over the next decade.
The legislation is full of promises, including increasing the deduction for state and local taxes, eliminate federal income tax on tips, eliminate subsidies on federal student loans, reduce spending on Medicaid and more. One promise that’s missing, however, is federal tax cuts on Social Security.
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There are currently 52.6 million Americans receiving Social Security benefits, and many rely on them to cover their everyday expenses. On the campaign trail, Trump made his intentions with Social Security clear.
He posted on TruthSocial: “Seniors should not pay tax on Social Security.”
Trump reiterated that point in a recent town hall event announcing the Big, Beautiful Bill, saying the bill will include “no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security and no tax on overtime.”
Eliminating tax on Social Security seems to have been left out of the bill. It does have deductions for seniors, including an additional $4,000 for middle- and low-income seniors. There could be a few reason the promise was left out, USAToday reports. For one, the Social Security Act can only be amended with a 60 votes in the Seneate, and not meeting that threshold could tank the entire bill.
Neither party holds a supermajority in the Senate, so passing any legislation that has to do with Social Security would need bipartisan support. With only 53 Republicans in the Senate, it’s unlikely that any Democrats or Independents would vote for the Big, Beautiful Bill.
Adding the Social Security promise to the Big Beautiful Bill could also hurt the financial health of the program. Though current retirees would get increased checks, the program itself could become quickly spent.
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is a separate account in the United States Treasury that allows for the automatic payment of monthly benefits to retired-workers.
The Social Security Board of Trustees Report said in 2024 that the OASI Trust Fund is expected to be completely depleted by 2033, which will result in benefit cuts to retirees. Ending taxes on Social Security would speed up that estimate by eliminating one of the funds main sources of income.
The Senate is set to return to Washington on June 2. While it could pass with a simple majority, some Republican holdouts like Paul and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) have said they will not vote for the bill unless changes are made.
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