The Social Security Administration has reinstated Maine parents' ability to register their newborns for a Social Security number at the hospital just days after telling state officials that the program was canceled.
No reason has been given for either change. However, the move follows a pattern of chaotic and unexplained changes to government programs and contracts as billionaire Elon Musk and his team cull workers and programs from the federal bureaucracy.
The Enumeration at Birth process has been in place for all states since 1989 and is used by 99% of parents, according to the Social Security Administration. Other states' canceled contracts appear on Musk's so-called Wall of Receipts, a website meant to show savings accrued by his team as it cancels contracts and programs.
This week Maine officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention began notifying providers that the federal government had suspended the in-hospital application process and parents will now have to apply in-person at a Social Security office. The notice said EAB is voluntary but "almost all parents" utilized the program to obtain a Social Security number for their child. Officials said parents will need to visit their local Social Security Office to apply for their child’s Social Security number.
But on Friday, Alisa Morton, a spokesperson for Department of Health and Human Services, the umbrella agency for the Maine CDC, said the program had been reinstated. Morton said the Social Security Administration terminated two contracts, one for Enumeration at Birth and another allowing for electronic submission of death registration and cited a clause allowing for the termination of contracts at the government's convenience.
"The SSA has just notified Maine DHHS that it is rescinding the terminations of the Maine contracts for Enumeration at Birth (EAB) and Electronic Death Records (EDR) effective immediately," Morton said.
Dr. Joe Anderson of the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said he's glad that parents won't be forced to travel to an office to apply.
"There are only two in the northern half of the state, there's one in Bangor and one in Presque Isle, so families may have to drive a couple of hours to get their newborn baby a Social Security card," he said.
Acting Social Security Administration commissioner Lee Dudek issued a statement Friday apologizing for the cancellation, but did not explain why it happened in the first place.
"In retrospect, I realize that ending these contracts created an undue burden on the people of Maine, which was not the intent. For that, I apologize and have directed that both contracts be immediately reinstated," Dudek said.
Dudek added that contracts for other states had not been affected.
"As a leader, I will admit my mistakes and make them right,” Dudek said.
While no reason was given for either change, the cancellation of enumeration at birth contracts for at least five other states appear on a website touting savings by Musk's team. They include Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico and Rhode Island. Maine's contract does not appear on the website.
Dudek replaced Michelle King in February. King resigned after Musk's team sought access to the Social Security Administration's confidential records. The acting administrator has been an enthusiastic supporter of Musk's slashing of federal agencies and wrote in a now-deleted Linkedin post that he circumvented typical protocols to give the billionaire's team access to records.
"I confess. I bullied agency executives, shared executive contact information, and circumvented the chain of command to connect DOGE with the people who get stuff done,” he posted, according to a report by CNN.
Musk has been tapped by President Donald Trump to cull the federal bureaucracy of waste and fraud, but his efforts have created a firestorm of controversy as he's vastly overstated savings and misrepresented the nature of the programs his team is eliminating.
The effort has also drawn lawsuits challenging Musk's ability to unilaterally direct changes and cuts to the federal bureaucracy. The billionaire's actual role has also vexed judges adjudicating those lawsuits because the Trump Administration has sent mixed messages about who is authorizing the cuts and contract cancellations.
On Thursday, Trump told his cabinet secretaries that they had final say on Musk's recommendations for cuts.
"If they can cut, it's better. And if they don't cut then Elon will do the cutting," the president said, according to NPR.
The controversy follows the recent confrontation between Trump and Gov. Janet Mills. The two leaders had a sharp exchange two weeks ago at the White House when Trump told Mills she had better comply with his order barring transgender athletes from competing in women's sports or lose all federal funding. The governor told the president she would see him in court, arguing that she was following Maine's law.
Since then the Trump administration has ordered three investigations into the state over alleged Title IX violations and his former attorney, U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi, has threatened to sue the state. One of the investigations ended just four days after the Mills and Trump encounter. It relied mostly on websites and news stories and ended with the Dept. of Health and Human Services referring the findings to the Department of Justice for potential enforcement.
Mills has said that the investigations are politically motivated with predetermined outcomes.
Maine Public reporter Patty Wight contributed to this story.
