WASHINGTON ― The acting head of the Social Security Administration said he was “upset” with Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who clashed with President Donald Trump at the White House last month, and suggested their feud played a role in a controversial policy change at Social Security.
Social Security Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek canceled contracts his agency had with the state of Maine for automatically processing Social Security numbers for newborns as well as death certificates from funeral homes.
Dudek has previously offered no rationale for the cancellations, which looked like political retaliation against the governor. He quickly reinstated the contracts and apologized.
On Tuesday, Dudek said he canceled one of the contracts by mistake because it was for $70,000 and didn’t know what it was for. Asked if the cancellation had something to do with the governor, Dudek suggested it actually did.
“I was upset at the governor’s treatment, and I indicated in an email as such, but the actual facts of the matter, was it looked like a strange contract,” Dudek said Tuesday on a press call in response to a question from HuffPost.
Every state has similar contracts. Only Maine’s were canceled.
Asked specifically if he was upset at how the governor had treated Trump, Dudek said he was.
“I think when you bring people together to have a cordial exchange, to show governments working together, you need to be respectful of each other,” Dudek said.
When told the contract cancellation appeared to be retaliation against a political opponent of Trump’s, Dudek said it was not.
“I’m not interested in political retaliation. I’m interested in serving the public,” he said.
Mills had said “see you in court” to Trump during a White House meeting when the president pressed her on whether Maine would comply with his administration’s efforts to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports.
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As a result of the canceled contracts, Maine officials said new parents would no longer be able to check a box at the hospital to request Social Security numbers for their newborns, which is the way it’s been done for 99% of new babies for decades. Instead, Maine parents would have to visit a Social Security field office to request the number.
The change prompted an outcry among pediatricians as well as concern from members of Congress.
“While I’m glad that the Social Security Administration has changed course, this rapid reversal has raised concerns among Maine people and left many unanswered questions about the Social Security Administration’s motivations,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said in a statement.