On Thursday, Oct. 22, the Social Security Administration (SSA) sent beneficiaries another email they had not asked for, praising President Donald Trump. It arrived less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm election 1. The message opened by saying, "Last year, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cuts," and went on to say that "nearly 70 million Trump Accounts are open for all American children." 1
Steve Benen of MS NOW counts this as the fourth unrequested political email the agency has sent to beneficiaries. The short message used the president's last name 10 times 1. The reports reviewed for this story found no public response from the agency, which is run by Commissioner Frank Bisignano 12.
The email called the 2025 Republican budget law by a new name. It did not use the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" title that Trump had insisted on 1.
What the email promoted, and what it left out
Trump Accounts are new investment accounts for children, created by that 2025 law 2. Reuters reported that the government makes a one-time $1,000 deposit for new parents. The White House says the accounts will track a stock index, and family and others can add up to $5,000 a year 6.
From Channel GOPWarren asks Greer for a tariff refund planElizabeth Warren · 180 plays · captioned, with the source named
The email did not mention that Trump's own Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, once described the accounts as a back door to privatizing Social Security 2. He said it at an event sponsored by Breitbart in July 2025. He later posted on X that the accounts would add to Social Security's guaranteed payments, not replace them 6.
But in a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security
Critics say the timing was no accident. Berin Szóka wrote on X that the agency "is using taxpayer funds to campaign for Trump and his candidates in the midterms." 2 That is an accusation. The reports reviewed describe no ruling by a court or federal agency on it 2.
Senators warned the commissioner in July
Three months before the latest email, five Democratic senators wrote to Bisignano about an earlier one: Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Tammy Baldwin, Sheldon Whitehouse and Ben Ray Luján 3. Their July 21 letter called the July message "partisan, politicized" 5.
You are misusing official resources to heap praise on him.
The senators wrote that "few presidents have done more than President Trump to damage Social Security." 2 They also reminded Bisignano of his promise at his confirmation hearing to run the agency "in an independent and nonpartisan manner." 3 The Senate confirmed him on May 6, 2025, by a vote of 53 to 47 3.
About the newest email, Benen wrote: "If Bisignano saw the letter, he apparently didn't care." 1
A pattern of overstated claims
The July 2 email had the subject line "Making Life More Affordable for America's Seniors." It ended: "Under the leadership of President Trump, we are protecting and strengthening Social Security." 4 Its main claim was about the new tax break for seniors 3.
Thanks to President Trump, over 35 million American seniors received an average of $7,500 in relief this tax season.
The $7,500 was the average deduction, not the average amount people saved 5. A deduction lowers the income you pay tax on, so a $7,500 deduction saves about $900 for someone in the 12% tax bracket 5. Many retirees saved nothing, because they already owed no federal income tax on their benefits 5. The senators called the number a "gross overestimate." 3
When Newsweek asked about the email, SSA pointed to a Treasury Department analysis. It said more than 35 million seniors had claimed the deduction, averaging over $7,500 3. The administration did not answer questions about political bias in the emails 3.
The first email in the series went out July 3, 2025. It said the new law "eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries." 7 It does not. The law created a temporary deduction of up to $6,000 for people 65 and older, or $12,000 for married couples 7. SSA later changed the wording on its website, but it never sent a correction to the people who got the email 5.
This email went to every Social Security subscriber and every word of it is a lie.
Why it matters
That matters because an email from Social Security reaches older Americans directly, from a source many have trusted for decades. Benen put it this way: "Americans need to be able to rely on ostensibly apolitical federal agencies for accurate information, free of partisan taint." 1
There is a pattern. In just over a year, the agency has sent four unrequested messages praising the president, and the newest one came in the last two weeks before a national election 1. Two of them overstated what the 2025 law does for seniors 57.
Democrats in the Senate are in the minority. They can write letters and ask questions, but so far they have not gotten public answers. Whichever party controls Congress after Nov. 3 will decide whether the agency's leaders have to explain these emails at a public hearing.
The Record
- The Senate confirmed Frank Bisignano as Social Security commissioner, 53-47, after he promised to run the agency 'in an independent and nonpartisan manner' 3.
- SSA emailed beneficiaries that the new tax law eliminates federal income taxes on benefits for most of them. NBC News reported the claim was misleading 7.
- SSA sent the email 'Making Life More Affordable for America's Seniors,' crediting Trump with an average of $7,500 in relief 43.
- Senators Warren, Wyden, Baldwin, Whitehouse and Luján wrote to Bisignano calling the email 'partisan, politicized' 53.
- SSA sent a fourth unrequested political email, promoting Trump Accounts and using Trump's surname 10 times 1.
Sources
- MS NOW (MaddowBlog), “Social Security Administration pushes yet another Trump-centric message as elections approach” (2026-10-22). ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/social-security-adminis
- Common Dreams, “Social Security Agency Accused—Once Again—of Illegally Using Federal Resources to Praise Trump” (2026-10-23). commondreams.org/news/social-security-administration-trump
- Newsweek, “How Frank Bisignano's Social Security Email Became a Political Flashpoint” (2026-07-22). newsweek.com/frank-bisignano-social-security-email-controver
- MS NOW (MaddowBlog), “Social Security Administration's Bisignano rankles with latest Trump-centric message” (2026-07-06). ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/social-security-adminis
- FinanceBuzz, “Social Security Sent Millions of Retirees a Misleading Email About Trump - Here's What It Got Wrong” (2026-08-06). financebuzz.com/social-security-misleading-email-trump
- Reuters (via Yahoo News), “Bessent calls Trump baby accounts 'backdoor for privatizing Social Security'” (2025-07-30). yahoo.com/news/articles/bessent-calls-trump-baby-accounts-23
- NBC News, “Social Security Administration sends misleading email lauding Trump's new tax cuts law” (2025-07-04). nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/social-security-ad
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