President Joe Biden has removed Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul after he refused to resign.
Biden had asked the top two officials at the Social Security Administration to resign, but only Saul refused, according to published reports Friday. Deputy Commissioner David Black agreed to submit his resignation, a White House official told CNN, and it was accepted.
The White House official told CNN that Biden removed Saul for several reasons, specifically because Saul had "undermined and politicized Social Security disability benefits, terminated the agency's telework policy that was utilized by up to 25% of the agency's workforce [and] not repaired SSA's relationships with relevant Federal employee unions including in the context of COVID-19 workplace safety planning."
Saul told The Washington Post Friday, however, that that he would not leave his position because he does not believe that the president has the authority to fire him.
On April 12, 2018, then President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Saul for the post of Social Security commissioner for the remainder of a six-year term expiring Jan. 19, 2019, and for an additional six-year term expiring Jan. 19, 2025.
