News · Press Release

On Social Security’s 91st Anniversary, Brad Finstad Is Still Plotting To Privatize It

After promising to protect Social Security, Van Orden voted for a “backdoor” scheme to privatize this vital program

For nearly a century, Social Security has been the ticket to financial security for millions of Minnesotans who have worked hard to retire with grace and dignity.

But Brad Finstad and D.C. Republicans are hellbent on destroying it at the behest of billionaires.

New reporting reveals that Finstad was caught falling in line behind far-right schemes to privatize Social Security. He stands with the extreme ”60 Plus Association” that has been advocating for privatization for decades — a move that would effectively gut Minnesotans’ retirement security to benefit Finstad’s Wall Street backers.

A recap of Finstad and the Administration’s actions to date:

  • Finstad voted for the Big, Ugly Law, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted was a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
  • Finstad fully submitted to Elon Musk’s plan to gut the agency, which cut phone lines, fired staff, and laid off workers through his cruel DOGE effort. To date, Social Security offices have lost an estimated 20% of staff.
  • The Administration rolled out a proposal to cut disability benefits to recipients.
  • According to the Chief Actuary, the Social Security trust fund is predicted to run out of money faster than previous estimates because of the The Big, Ugly Law.

Social Security By The Numbers:

  • 1,187,480 Minnesotans receive Social Security.
  • 89,465 Minnesotans receive Supplemental Security Income (disability benefits).
  • 63% of retirees rely on Social Security for at least half of their income.
  • Social Security lifts more than 310,000 Minnesota seniors out of poverty.
  • 79% say Social Security earned benefits shouldn’t be reduced in any way.

DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene:
“Social Security has been a pillar of America’s middle class and represents one of the most singularly successful programs in our nation’s history. It is based on a basic American value: If you work hard, you should be able to earn enough to retire with dignity and peace of mind. Brad Finstad abandoned those values by backing extreme right-wing efforts to privatize Social Security, gut benefits, and give away billions to his Wall Street backers. Finstad’s attempts to privatize Social Security are just his latest broken promise to the American people — and it’s why he will lose in November.”

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