Some Democrats are squaring off with President Donald Trump's administration over one of the most potent political issues in the country ahead of this year’s midterm elections: Social Security.
The social safety net program that financially supports more than 70 million people — mostly retirees but also those with disabilities — was at the center of a critical letter some Senate Democrats sent to Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano.
The New Deal-era program carries significant weight with voters, millions of whom rely on it, making talk of cutting benefits unpopular. Adding to the potency of the issue is the program's looming funding shortfall. Democrats and Republicans are competing this November for control of the narrowly divided House, with the Senate increasingly in play, injecting an incentive for both sides to press their advantages.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon, along with Democratic colleagues, said in a letter to Bisignano this week that he used an “unsolicited” electronic message to Social Security recipients to push partisan and misleading statements about benefits stemming from the Republican president's signature legislation, his massive tax and spending cuts law.
“You are misusing official resources to heap praise on him,” the letter said.
The lawmakers said it's misleading to label the tax deductions for seniors in the legislation as a tax cut. (More on that in a minute.)
A copy of Bisignano's message obtained Thursday by The Associated Press shows the commissioner wrote that some 35 million seniors received an average of $7,500 in tax relief under Trump's legislation.
“Under the leadership of President Donald Trump, we are protecting and strengthening Social Security while providing world-class customer service,” Bisignano wrote.
It's unclear how many people received the commissioner's message.
The Social Security Administration on Thursday declined to respond to questions.
Not directly. The legislation targeted seniors' income with a temporary benefit, not just Social Security.
While Trump campaigned in 2024 on eliminating taxes on Social Security income, the bill he signed into law in July 2025 falls short of that.
But it does provide some benefits.
For those age 65 or older, it offers a $6,000 deduction phasing out above the $75,000 annual income level for single filers. For couples, it's a $12,000 deduction phasing out above $150,000.
The deduction isn't permanent and is set to expire in 2028.
Control of Congress and with it the remainder of Trump's presidency are at stake in this year's electoral campaign, which is already underway.
Trump faces a historical trend in which the party in the White House typically loses seats in the midterm. He has been touting the benefits of his signature legislation, holding events in battlegrounds across the country, recently in Pennsylvania and Georgia, with one on Michigan coming up.
Democrats have been looking to blunt his messaging, and some have called for higher taxes on higher earners to help bolster the social safety net.
FILE - A Social Security card is displayed Oct. 12, 2021, in Tigard, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
Tropical Storm Bertha made a second landfall near the Texas-Louisiana state line Thursday, ending its slow crawl across the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center said Bertha should weaken rapidly over land after its center came onshore Thursday afternoon about 75 miles (115 kilometers) northeast of Galveston, Texas.
Forecasters said some storm surge along the immediate coast and isolated flash flooding were possible, though the storm was expected to weaken rapidly over land.
No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of Florida. The storm made landfall for the first time Wednesday as it grazed the Louisiana coast southwest of New Orleans.
Bertha is the second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
Tropical Storm Bertha churned toward a second landfall in Texas on Thursday after grazing southern Louisiana in a slow crawl that triggered heavy surf and some flooding along the Gulf Coast but kept the heaviest rains offshore.
Bertha was located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Galveston, Texas, late Thursday morning as it crept westward, the National Hurricane Center said. Still packing sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph), it was expected to remain a tropical storm until moving onshore later in the day.
No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle. The storm triggered some coastal flooding as its center first struck land Wednesday in Louisiana southwest of New Orleans, but its heaviest rains stayed over the Gulf waters.
A tropical storm warning remained in effect Thursday along the Gulf Coast from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas. The hurricane center said Bertha could still cause up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of storm surge along the coast and trigger isolated flash flooding from heavy rains in coastal and south Texas.
Tropical storm force winds on Thursday extended as far as 160 miles (260 kilometers) from the storm’s center, the hurricane center said. Still, forecasters expected the storm to weaken rapidly after moving onshore and dissipate over inland Texas by Friday.
In Galveston, local officials urged residents to brace for a “windy day” and secure any outdoor objects that might become airborne projectiles.
“While no significant impacts are forecast, some gusty storms may blow through the island throughout the day," Galveston's Office of Emergency Management said in a Facebook post Thursday.
As the storm approached Louisiana on Wednesday, children splashed in the floodwaters as onlookers watched the surge at the Lake Pontchartrain estuary. Residents mowed their lawns even as streets filled up with water.
Strong gales earlier in the week knocked over a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida. Heavy surf and the threat of rip tides had prompted warnings at Gulf Coast beaches for swimmers to stay out of the water.
Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.
In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Thursday. The hurricane was more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).
The hurricane center said swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tides in parts of southern California.
Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
This NOAA satellite image taken at 11:40 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, shows Tropical Storm Bertha in the Gulf of Mexico moving toward the edge of Louisiana. (NOAA via AP)
Children play near breaking waves on West End Pier on Lake Pontchartrain as Tropical Storm Bertha approaches the Louisiana Coast Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
