The Gainesville Social Security office will apparently remain open, after all.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which several weeks ago announced that the local office and four others in the state, among others around the country, would be closing in compliance with President Trump’s cutbacks in federal spending would be closing.
That touched off protests and demonstrations all over the country – from the halls of the Congress, particularly among Democratic members of Congress – to the tiniest hamlets. And Gainesville was no exception. STORY POSTED MARCH 2: Swift reaction to plans to close some SSA offices
“@SocialSecurity is not closing any field sites in Georgia or elsewhere,” DOGE said recently on X, formerly Twitter. “The confusion likely arises from the closure of 5 permanent remote hearing sites (PRSs)—single rooms within field sites used for hearings. Since most hearings are now virtual, these PRSs are unnecessary. Field sites remain open, and Social Security has no plans to close any public-facing sites nationwide.”
A week ago, one of Georgia’s senators, Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, Tweeted that DOGE had closed the five offices, while pledging to “fight this.”
That and the news that the offices won’t be closing opened the door for a tongue-lashing from 9th District Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-Jackson County).
“Senator Warnock has peddled lies and fearmongered Georgia seniors long enough,” Clyde said in a statement posted on his website. “Instead of proceeding with caution and confirming a shred of validity to his claims, Senator Warnock recklessly ran with potential lease savings identified by DOGE in order to score cheap political points. The Left’s obsession with vilifying President Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE is out of control. Scaring Americans — in this case, seniors — to distort the Administration’s work to expose and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse is irresponsible and reeks of desperation.”
Late Thursday, Sen. Warnock responded to the news that the offices would remain open, Tweeting “Some good news: As a result of public pressure, my office has confirmed that DOGE has backed down from their previously announced decision to close Social Security offices in GA. After initially listing 5 offices as “agency closed” on their “wall of receipts,” DOGE has now removed the GA lease terminations from their website. This is an important victory for Georgia seniors and a true testament to the power of our voices. I’ll continue working to hold this admin accountable.”
He made no direct comment on Rep. Clyde’s statement.
