Biden fires head of Social Security Administration, a Trump holdover who drew the ire of Democrats
Last edited Fri Jul 9, 2021, 07:35 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Washington Post
President Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a holdover from the Trump administration who had alienated crucial Democratic constituencies with policies designed to clamp down benefits and an uncompromising anti-union stance. Saul was fired after refusing a request to resign, White House officials said. His deputy, David Black, who was also appointed by former president Donald Trump, resigned Friday upon request. Biden named Kilolo Kijakazi, the current deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy, to serve as acting commissioner until a permanent nominee is selected.
But Saul said in an interview Friday afternoon that he would not leave his post, challenging the legality of the White House move to oust him. As the head of an independent agency whose leadership does not normally change with a new administration, Saul’s six-year term was supposed to last until January 2025. The White House said a recent Supreme Court ruling gives the president power to replace him. Saul disputed that. “I consider myself the term-protected Commissioner of Social Security,” he said, adding that he plans to be back at work on Monday morning, signing in remotely from his New York home. He called his ouster a “Friday Night Massacre.”
“This was the first I or my deputy knew this was coming,” Saul said of the email he received from the White House Personnel Office Friday morning. “It was a bolt of lightning no one expected. And right now it’s left the agency in complete turmoil.” Saul’s firing came after a tumultuous six-month tenure in the Biden administration during which advocates for the elderly and the disabled and Democrats on Capitol Hill pressured the White House to dismiss him. He had clashed with labor unions that represent his 60,000 employees, who said he used union-busting tactics.
Angry advocates say he dawdled while millions of disabled Americans waited for him to turn over files to the Internal Revenue Service to release their stimulus checks — and accused him of an overzealous campaign to make disabled people reestablish their eligibility for benefits. “Since taking office, Commissioner Saul has undermined and politicized Social Security disability benefits, terminated the agency’s telework policy that was utilized by up to 25 percent of the agency’s workforce, not repaired SSA’s relationships with relevant Federal employee unions including in the context of COVID-19 workplace safety planning, reduced due process protections for benefits appeals hearings, and taken other actions that run contrary to the mission of the agency and the President’s policy agenda,” the White House said in a statement.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/andrew-saul-social-security-/2021/07/09/c18a34fa-df99-11eb-a501-0e69b5d012e5_story.html
Didn't realize this one was still there.
ETA - here is some info on what happened here and the mechanism behind it (from a piece in The Hill) -
By Thomas Hungerford, opinion contributor — 01/20/21 06:00 PM EST
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill
(snip)
This situation is the result of the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994. Before getting into needed changes regarding the terms of the top two positions at SSA, let me provide a bit of background. Before 1994, SSA was part of the Department of Health and Human Services and the commissioner was a political appointee who reported to the HHS secretary.
In the 20 years prior to the introduction of bills that would change that structure, Congress noted an increasing backlog of disability claims, frequent turnover of agency personnel — including 12 commissioners, six of whom served as acting commissioners — and increasing political intervention in the administration of Social Security. Both the House and Senate version of the bill separated SSA from HHS to establish an independent agency “in the executive branch of government.” That is, SSA would become independent of HHS but not of the executive branch. The House and Senate versions differed, among other things, on who would run the newly independent agency.
The House version would have created a three-member board appointed by the president subject to Senate confirmation who would serve staggered six-year terms. The board would appoint an executive director to run the agency and would serve a four-year term. The executive director would appoint a deputy director who would serve at their pleasure. The Senate version would have created the office of the commissioner with a commissioner appointed by the president subject to Senate confirmation to serve a four-year term coincident with the president’s term of office. A deputy commissioner would also be appointed by the president subject to Senate confirmation to serve a coincident four-year term.
After the conference to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions, the enacted legislation created an independent SSA as part of the executive branch and a commissioner and deputy commissioner appointed by the president subject to Senate confirmation to serve six-year terms. The commissioner does not serve at the pleasure of the president; he or she “may be removed from office only pursuant to a finding by the president of neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” The act is silent on the midterm removal of the deputy commissioner; presumably they can be fired at-will by the president.
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/535001-social-security-commissioners-must-be-tied-to-the-president
So I expect all the ducks are in a row regarding malfeasance to do a "for cause" removal.
= new reply since forum marked as read
and the telecom department manages all access. We have something called a PIV card that has a chip in it that we have to insert into our computers via our laptops or keyboard in the case of a PC - one click from a network administrator to disable that chip and I would not be able to get past the Windows screen. And further - this is government equipment - we have layers upon layers of security. It's a pain in the butt to have to constantly change our passwords, but its the nature of the beast when you work for the government.
I would not be a bit surprised if they were not tracking his actions since January, especially if they had reason to believe he was acting in a manner that was suspicious or illegal (he was appointed by TFG, so that is pretty much a given). Believe me - he can scream and throw as big a tantrum as he wants, its all for show - he knows he is GONE. He's not logging into ANYTHING on Monday, but its good that he let them know he would be home so they can come and pick up the government owned equipment he has. They have probably already remotely wiped his computer anyway 
GET RID OF THE BUMS!
Annette
is going after the “F**k the People” that TFG put in positions of power!
Post Office next? 
Another fucking moron, obviously. When you purposely fuck up SS and are anti-union, what do you think a Dem POTUS will do? Duh! 
What you tried to do to so many of the SS staff was just done to YOU. Maybe you should go to the union and file a complaint.
Tough shit asshole. Get out and stay out or you will be escorted out by security.
Been there; done that! DH tried to hang on to a DEM appointed county IT job we desperately needed, once upon a time in a galaxy far away. I always thought there were lots of complicating issues surrounding his loss of employment and only gradually I came to realize it was just as this post's title says - HAH! - or perhaps it really WAS one or more of those issues...
I just added some info in the OP about this particular position. 
it has to be "for cause" and just from the OP info regarding the mess this appointee has done, including messing with the Stimulus checks (which were mandated by law), then the firing is legit.
I.e., this part (from the OP), which was part of the WH statement, is probably part of their justification for "malfeasance" to justify the firing -
when they reorganized SSA to be out from HHS.
It's a similar issue to what was done with FEMA more recently (which was independent, then thrown under DHS by Shrub, and then taken out again by Obama after the DHS Skeletor situation failed).
There's no "at the pleasure of the President" or "for cause" removal for the Postmaster General position unfortunately because that person is actually selected by the Board. But getting the proper people on the Board means they could immediately start a search for a new Postmaster General (as recommended/approved by the President) and can then send FUCKING DEJOY on his way. Ahem... sorry.
Last edited Sat Jul 10, 2021, 09:40 AM - Edit history (1)
At-Will Defined
At-will means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, except an illegal one, or for no reason without incurring legal liability. Likewise, an employee is free to leave a job at any time for any or no reason with no adverse legal consequences.
At-will also means that an employer can change the terms of the employment relationship with no notice and no consequences. For example, an employer can alter wages, terminate benefits, or reduce paid time off. In its unadulterated form, the U.S. at-will rule leaves employees vulnerable to arbitrary and sudden dismissal, a limited or on-call work schedule depending on the employer’s needs, and unannounced cuts in pay and benefits.
Maybe a federal agents should escort you out of the building....that can be done also....after you clean out your desk.....
if they still do that. I knew a woman who was very well spoken but fruity as a bat. Still she went in there and tried to impress the doctor with what she knew and she was denied. I just didn't say much. Maybe my vague answers looked like I was confused (?)
I certainly did not fake the damn mental illness but I was not going to go in and try to impress their doctor with my education or anything.
I guess my advise is, "Keep your eye on the ball"
Good luck to you!
