WASHINGTON (JTA) – Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew Saul, who was fired last week by US President Joe Biden, claimed the move was illegal and vowed to remain in office.
Saul, a businessman who has donated heavily to Jewish interests, made the remarks to The Washington Post on Friday.
Biden said Trump-appointed officials were thwarting the changes Biden wanted in the agency. The government has been able to shut down access to the computer network, so it is unclear what options Saul has.
Democrats, government unions, and advocates for the disabled and the elderly had pressed for Saul’s removal.
“Since taking office, Commissioner Saul has undermined and politicized Social Security disability benefits, abolishing the agency’s telework policy that was used by up to 25 percent of agency employees, relevant in the context of COVID SSA’s relationship with federal employee unions was not repaired—19 workplace safety plans, reduced due process protections for benefits appeal hearings, and took other actions that run contrary to the agency’s mission and the president’s policy agenda. are,” the White House said in a statement to the Post.
Saul said he made administration more efficient and what he said was an abuse of work from home policies.
“I feel very clearly that I am doing an excellent job there,” he said.
His term was to last till 2025. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate, said the firing “politicized” the agency.
Saul, who was also a major donor to the Republican Party, was Donald Trump’s classmate at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
He was confirmed as Social Security Administration commissioner in 2019 and called for immediate reform to stop what Trump administration officials said was a fraudulent abuse of the system. Social Security beneficiaries said it has become difficult to claim the much-needed relief.
Saul, 74, has had a successful career in fashion and investing. He says on his official Social Security Administration biography that he formerly served as a board member of the United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York.