At least 1 NC Social Security office saved from closing. What about the other 3?
The Department of Government Efficiency quietly removed three Social Security offices in North Carolina from its list of leases it plans to terminate, and a congressman says at least one of those offices will continue operations.
“After working with the administration, my office has received assurance that the Social Security Administration office in Franklin will not be closing and all of the space being used by the public and staff will remain in use,” said U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from Flat Rock, in a written statement to McClatchy.
The Department of Government Efficiency, commonly referred to as DOGE, is an unofficial organization within the Trump administration run by billionaire Elon Musk. It aims to cut wasteful spending across the federal government by firing workers and closing federal buildings.
DOGE previously said on its website it planned to cancel the leases for four Social Security Administration offices in the state that also included buildings in Greenville, Elizabeth City and Roanoke Rapids.
It was part of a larger plan by DOGE to eliminate 700 federal leases across the United States to save $460 million. But on Wednesday, 136 leases and $140 million in savings were removed from the site, The New York Times reported.
McClatchy noticed the discrepancy with the North Carolina leases after the Associated Press published an article about an internal memo that announced when the state’s four Social Security offices would close. The Roanoke Rapids closure was listed for Aug. 1, and was said to save the federal government $24,000.
The White House press office did not respond to a request for comment.
Western North Carolinians were concerned about the closure of the Franklin site. It’s the only Social Security Administration office west of Asheville. It takes nearly two-and-a-half hours to drive from Asheville to Wolf Creek, one of the state’s westernmost communities.
“With our nation’s unsustainable debt, I believe it is prudent to make sure that we are using Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars efficiently and effectively,” Edwards said. “Responsibly reducing the federal government’s real estate footprint will help keep taxpayers from footing the bill for unused office space, which is why I introduced the FULL Act that was signed into law last Congress.”
FULL stands for Federal Use it or Lose it Lease.
Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican from Greenville, said he’s received many questions about the offices in Greenville and Elizabeth City.
“After reaching out to the Social Security Administration advocating for our offices, I have been informed that the closures will only impact small hearing rooms within another SSA office, and not the public facing field offices,” Murphy said in a written statement. “Most hearings are held virtually, and these Permanent Remote Sites are no longer needed.”
Heather Hughes is the president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3509 and represents workers at Social Security field offices across the Southeast. She told McClatchy in an email Thursday that the union’s area director for the region told her that the Elizabeth City and Greenville offices were also “rescinded” from termination.
The office of Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat from Snow Hill, confirmed those details.
Hughes expects the Roanoke Rapids office to follow.
Hughes said the the Roanoke Rapids office was the first to be listed on the DOGE website for a lease termination. Like the Franklin office, she said that would leave customers with an hour or more commute to the next nearest location.
“At that time, I did ask our Area Director’s office and they said that it was only the remote hearing site that is also in the same building,” Hughes said. “But then the other offices popped up and we couldn’t get anything official from the Agency to say that these “closings” were just the remote hearing sites or the field office (or both).”
Hughes said some Social Security field offices have smaller separate offices within the same building for the Social Security Office of Hearings and Appeals. Hughes said it seemed improbable to her based on floor plans that only a remote hearing site would be closed and not the entire office.
To complicate matters, this week the Social Security Administration announced that anyone who wants to change their direct deposit or file for Social Security benefits can no longer do so by phone. They have to do it online or in person.
“Many of our public do not have transportation or they are homebound or in the hospital or other type of facility and can’t come into an office and don’t have access or simply don’t know how to use the internet,” Hughes said. “What happens to them? What happens to the person who can’t do it online and now their local office has closed at the same time that the agency changed its policy to require people to come in?”
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 2:10 PM with the headline "At least 1 NC Social Security office saved from closing. What about the other 3?."
