Republicans calling for an increase in the retirement age are feeling political heat, a position made even less comfortable by the inconsistent positions on popular entitlement programs taken by their likely presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), who led a large group of House Republicans in calling for a phased-in hike in the Social Security eligibility age, Thursday defended the proposal to reduce the trajectory of spending on entitlements. Hern said the plan pitched by the Republican Study Committee, which represents about 80% of House Republicans, is in line with Trump’s statements because it wouldn’t affect those near retirement.
“What you’re hearing the president say — President Trump say — is exactly what we’ve been saying, because we’re not going to do anything to harm anybody that’s near retirement or in retirement,” Hern told reporters.
Hern’s position highlights the tension among Republicans as members struggle to determine a strategy on entitlement spending. Some in the party have vocally pushed for policy changes to Social Security and Medicare, while others in the GOP have sought to avoid touching the “third rail of politics,” especially during a presidential election year. Conservative commentator Lou Dobbs accused Hern of undermining Trump’s campaign by releasing the proposal.
With Trump now the near certain GOP presidential nominee, congressional Republicans once again face the challenge of reconciling their positions with a party standard-bearer who has a history of being unpredictable and ideologically flexible.
Trump has gone back and forth on entitlements. He said in a March 11 CNBC interview that “there’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.” He then told the far right website Breitbart he “will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare.”
Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for Trump’s campaign, said in an emailed statement he “will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term.” But he hasn’t addressed specific proposals to raise the age of eligibility or reduce future benefits.
‘Trickle-down Economics’
Top Democrats quickly sought to publicize the Republican Study Committee’s proposal released Wednesday. President Joe Biden said in a statement it represents “trickle-down economics” that would benefit corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
“Let me be clear: I will stop them,” Biden said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor Thursday that the plan “reads like a wish list for Donald Trump and the ‘MAGA’ hard right.”
House Majority PAC, which supports Democratic candidates, will run ads based on the proposal this fall, Mike Smith, the PAC’s president, said in a statement.
Some key Republicans agree with Hern’s approach. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the Republican whip who’s running to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as his conference’s leader, said he favors a plan to gradually phase in a retirement age increase “for younger people, so it didn’t impact people who are retiring or near retirement age.”
“There are going to have to be some things done to make the program sustainable or it gets about a 25% cut a few years from now when it runs out of money,” Thune told reporters Thursday. “It’s an issue we’ve got to deal with, and I would rather deal with it sooner than later.”
Hern’s caucus has been vague on the details of the proposed retirement age. The Republican Study Committee’s fiscal 2025 budget proposal calls for “modest adjustments to the retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy.” It doesn’t cite a specific piece of legislation or provide more detail. Hern said he would follow up with more information, adding that he doesn’t want the policy change to affect people older than their 40s.
“I think it’s 45 years old, that we start moving that forward, and that’s not going to make a difference to anybody,” said Hern, who has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to defend his stance from the White House and others.
Conflicting Approaches
The decision to release a proposal for Social Security and Medicare policy changes conflicts with the approach taken by the House Budget Committee, which advanced a fiscal 2025 budget resolution that sidesteps policy specifics. Instead, the committee called for a bipartisan, bicameral commission to negotiate debt-reducing legislation, including to shore up the solvency of trust funds supporting popular entitlement programs.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) praised the Budget Committee’s approach in a CNBC interview Thursday, noting that it would reduce spending “while not affecting Social Security or Medicare. It’s possible to do.”
The plan for a bipartisan commission has also hit some speed bumps. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) previously told reporters he wanted the bill to create the panel to be tied to a must-pass government-funding measure to help ensure its passage. It was left out of both major funding packages introduced this month.
One of the trust funds that supports Social Security is projected for insolvency in 2033, the program’s board of trustees said in their most recent estimate in March 2023.
Biden’s fiscal 2025 budget proposal called for an increased tax on top earners to support Medicare. It broadly called for top earners to pay more to support Social Security but didn’t include specific proposals.
— With assistance from Erik Wasson.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story: