The Senate on Monday confirmed former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to head the Social Security Administration by a vote of 50-11, ending more than two years at the beleaguered Social Security Administration without permanent leadership. It put an end to the drought.
The move comes two years after President Biden ousted Andrew Saul, a Trump appointee, from his post in July 2021 after months of lobbying from disability advocacy groups and unions representing SSA workers. , appointed Mr. O’Malley to take full command of the agency. Since then, Kiroro Kijakazi has been running the agency as his agent.
Over the past few years, the Social Security Administration has struggled on several fronts, including long wait times in person at field offices and on customer service phone lines, and a backlog of pending disability claims.
And due to years of chronic underfunding, the agency recorded its lowest staffing level in 25 years in 2023, even though the number of beneficiaries has steadily increased. As a result, government employees have high workloads and low morale. Although the agency was able to use new funding from the 2023 appropriations law to address the hiring surge, turnover remains high. And the across-the-board funding, part of a short-term continuity resolution meant to avert a government shutdown, forced agencies to pause efforts and freeze hiring.
Throughout the nomination process, O’Malley and his allies touted his accomplishments as governor and mayor of Baltimore in modernizing large organizations and using statistical modeling programs to monitor and reform government services.
“What Social Security needs is a common operating platform where everyone can see what’s going on within the organization,” he said during his confirmation hearing last month. “If you look at your organization chart right now, it’s large and very siled. It’s about breaking away from the 240-year tradition that “is my budget” or that information should be hoarded, and instead recognizing that: Information must be shared openly and transparently. We need to measure performance and understand what’s happening where, whether we’re on track, who’s doing well, and who’s not. ”
Some Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee withheld support for Saul’s nomination, citing dissatisfaction with Biden’s decision to oust Saul two years ago, but he also said that while some Republicans withheld support for Saul’s nomination on the Senate Finance Committee, citing dissatisfaction with Saul’s decision to oust Saul two years ago, Three candidates were lowered in ranking due to “high praise” from Republican Party officials who had cooperated with them. He was sworn in as governor and supported his candidacy.
On the Senate floor, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, said O’Malley would continue to put the two districts at the center of decision-making in the agency.
“He would have two sets of people in mind as commissioner,” he said. “One of them will be individuals who depend on receiving monthly benefits. He’s going to focus on making sure that person doesn’t have to wait for a phone call. [with the agency] Take a few minutes or tens of minutes to make sure things get done in a timely manner, like now. But his second group that he focuses on as well is his SSA workforce. Employees are being asked to do more with less, and Governor O’Malley knows how to bring out the strengths of his employees, supports their mission, and fosters their excellence. Reward service. So I think SSA will have a leader who understands the agency’s responsibility not just to the people it serves, but to its beneficiaries. ”