PRESIDENT Joe Biden sacked the commissioner of Social Security after Andrew Saul refused to resign, the White House said on July 9, 2021.
In addition, Deputy Commissioner David Black agreed to resign.
Who is Andrew Saul and why was he fired?
Andrew Saul served as the commissioner of Social Security until he was fired by President Joe Biden.
Biden had asked Saul to step down, and his employment was terminated after he refused the request, according to the White House.
Both Saul and Black had been put in place under President Donald Trump, a Republican. Trump was defeated by the Democrat Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Biden named Kilolo Kijakazi as acting commissioner as the administration conducts a search for a permanent commissioner and deputy commissioner.
Kijakazi currently is the deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy at the Social Security Administration.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said in a statement that “every president should chose the personnel that will best carry out their vision for the country.
“To fulfill President Biden’s bold vision for improving and expanding Social Security, he needs his people in charge,” added Wyden.
Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho, the top Republican on the finance committee, and Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, issued a joint statement calling Biden's decision “disappointing."
The pair claimed “Social Security beneficiaries stand the most to lose from President Biden's partisan decision to remove Commissioner Andrew Saul.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the move an “unprecedented and dangerous politicization of the Social Security Administration.”
Source: Read Full Article
