McGarvey vows to fight ‘tooth and nail’ to protect Social Security in Louisville town hall

Rep. Morgan McGarvey came to Louisville’s Beecher Terrace housing development on April 23 to ease concerns from constituents about threats to Social Security, vowing to do all he can to protect the financial safety net.

But as President Donald Trump’s second term nears its 100th day, the two-term Democratic congressman acknowledged he has his own worries about the future of the program that he said serves nearly 150,000 people in Jefferson County.

When someone in the audience asked whether Trump could raise the eligibility age — currently 67 for most people born after 1959 to get full Social Security benefits — McGarvey answered “in my opinion, he can’t.”

“But I tell you my opinion because of what we’re seeing right now,” he continued. “In my opinion, you can’t end birthright citizenship through executive order. In my opinion, you can’t dismantle the Department of Education by executive order. In my opinion, you can’t dismantle USAID by executive order. … But (Trump) is challenging it.”

McGarvey’s town hall in Louisville’s Russell neighborhood — he was back in the Bluegrass State for the week before Congress reconvenes at the end of April — came as many have raised concerns about the future of a national financial support system that currently serves more than 70 million Americans.

Trump has said he does not plan to cut benefits for Social Security recipients. But comments by billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who called the program a “Ponzi scheme” in a March interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, and other actions taken by the administration have raised concerns from McGarvey’s office in the nation’s Capitol to low-income residents in Louisville’s West End.

Several in the audience who asked questions said they’d had trouble navigating the Social Security website or had been unable to get help over the phone.

The Social Security Administration said in late February it plans to cut about 7,000 employees from its workforce of about 57,000, part of a federal initiative to cut staff from almost all government departments, and The Washington Post reported it recently reversed course on plans to scrap many claims services over the phone over concerns of overwhelming delays and wait times at offices.

“There’s different ways to cut programs,” McGarvey said. “One, you could just say ‘You’re not getting something.’ Another way to do it is to make it so hard for you to get them, you don’t end up getting them.”

McGarvey, a former state senator who took office in 2023 and rolled to reelection last November, has been vocal in his concerns about Trump and Musk.

At the Beecher Terrace town hall, he said “tech bros” associated with the billionaire Tesla owner who have been working with Trump appear intent on “breaking” the system, regardless of the impact on seniors around the nation. And at a forum in March discussing Medicaid, McGarvey said the president and his adviser are also putting that program at risk, influencing state legislators to take action of their own.

Donna Coleman, one attendee who lives at Beecher Terrace, said it’s clear issues wouldn’t be solved overnight, but McGarvey “gave the best answers he could to his ability.” She was one of about two-dozen people who attended the event at the Beecher Terrace community room.

Speaking to reporters after the hourlong event, McGarvey said he’d fight “tooth and nail” to protect Social Security when he returns to Washington, D.C., at the end of the month.

“We also want to make sure that it’s working for people — that you don’t encounter hours of delays, that you don’t encounter problems on an online portal, that you’re actually able to use it, that you’re able to get in there to get your appointment and get the benefits that you’ve earned,” he said.

Reach Lucas Aulbach at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Morgan McGarvey says protecting Social Security is a key priority