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After President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Government Efficiency to root out fraud and waste in the Social Security Administration, a new report showed Wyomingites with disabilities face nearly insurmountable barriers when trying to access a program they have paid into their entire working lives.

Staffing cuts, pushing services online, reducing access to human assistance and office closures have led to increased errors and delays at every step.

Katie Savin, assistant professor of social work at California State University-Sacramento and the report's co-author, said the changes may sound technical but the consequences are dire.

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"Our respondents told us that, as a result of some of these delays, their clients lost access to housing, were evicted," Savin reported. "Some clients even died as a result of missing necessary medical care."

In the first year of the new Trump administration, the Social Security Administration shed 7,500 employees, including 3,000 customer service positions.

One specialist helping people apply for benefits told the nonprofit Truthout they now wait for over an hour on hold before an agent picks up and even then, the call frequently drops after a couple of minutes. The Social Security Administration argued in addition to cutting fraud and waste, it has also reduced the backlog of disability claims.

However, researchers noted the administration is also denying more disability applications at the initial stage. Savin stressed changes made under DOGE are disproportionately affecting the people Social Security was designed to support.

"People in rural communities with limited internet access, older people who had less familiarity with navigating internet systems, really had a lot more challenges accessing their benefits when systems were moved online," Savin observed.

Researchers interviewed 52 specialists, many of whom have been working with the administration for decades, who help more than 8,000 Americans access benefits. Savin explained six specialists from separate organizations described trying to connect with Social Security after DOGE as screaming into a black hole.

"This is truly an unprecedented time in Social Security," Savin emphasized. "Some of our most experienced advocates found themselves unable to help their clients access benefits that they were entitled to."