Andrew Saul: Biden administration took action to ‘land’ sacked social security chief, administration official says

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“As with any dismissal, the government has taken steps to remove Andrew Saul as we would any other former employee,” an administration official said.

These measures should essentially prevent Saul, who was a holdover from President Donald Trump’s administration and who refused to resign at last week’s request, from accessing the agency’s systems after his dismissal. Saul previously told the Washington Post that he still plans to show up for work on Monday by logging in remotely from his New York home.

“I consider myself to be the term protected social security commissioner,” he told the Washington Post.

President Joe Biden has sacked Saul, whose six-year term as SSA leader was due to end in 2025, after the commissioner refused to resign at the White House’s request. Deputy Commissioner David Black agreed to tender his resignation, which was accepted by the White House.

Saul questioned the legality of the president’s decision, but a White House official said he believed the president had the power to remove those officials due to a Supreme Court precedent. A Justice Department note written on Thursday also described the rationale.

The president appointed Kilolo Kijakazi acting commissioner. Organizational charts on the SSA website were updated on Saturday to reflect Kijakazi’s new assignment as head of the agency on an interim basis.

Kijakazi is currently the Deputy Commissioner for Pension and Disability Policy at the Social Security Administration. Prior to this role, she was a Fellow of the Urban Institute, Program Officer for the Ford Foundation and Senior Policy Analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. She holds a doctorate in public policy and has led and participated in research on social security, racial equity, economic security and retirement security.

Saul and Black are not the first Trump-appointed to be dismissed by Biden’s White House, nor is Saul the first to question the legal authority Biden has to remove those appointed by his predecessor. .

Last winter, the Biden administration struggled to remove several Trump appointees from various government agencies and boards.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in February fired hundreds of members of 42 advisory boards, including a number of people appointed at the last minute by Trump, such as former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, director of Trump’s deputy campaign.

CNN’s Jeff Zeleny Rachel Janfaza contributed to this report.

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