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Biden fires Trump-appointed Social Security Chief: What you need to know
US Social Security commissioner Andrew Saul was fired on Friday by President Joe Biden after he refused to resign. He was appointed to the position by former President Donald Trump.
The deputy commissioner David Black resigned from his position today as well.
As Biden starts looking for a permanent commissioner and deputy commissioner, he appointed Kilolo Kijakazi as the acting commissioner. Kilolo is currently deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy at the Social Security Administration.
The decision comes after the opinion of the Justice Department, which suggested that the commissioner can be fired for neglecting his duties or malfeasance.
The decision got support from Democratic senators, but the republican counterparts said that Biden is politicizing the department. Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho and Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas issued a joint statement together saying, “Social Security beneficiaries stand the most to lose from President Biden’s partisan decision to remove Commissioner Andrew Saul.”
The firing also got support from the labor union that represents the Social Security department. The representative from that group said that the department has “suffered under Saul and Black’s leadership”.