Trump regime pursuing rule change that would cut or eliminate SSI benefits for disabled adults living with low-income family members
As many as 400,000 Americans nationally could be affected, including more than 57,700 blind and disabled SSI recipients in Connecticut
It is the second time in two years the regime has attempted to reduce disability benefits after a similar effort was abandoned in 2025
New reporting from ProPublica indicates the Trump administration is trying for the second time in as many years to slash benefits for nearly half-a-million Americans with significant disabilities and living with relatives.
A new federal regulatory listing, which would lead to a rule change, seeks to cut benefits for people who are disabled and cannot work who live in the same home as their families, according to ProPublica. Under the change, the value of a disabled adult’s bedroom they live in will be pulled from their Supplemental Security Income; that could lead to benefit cuts of about one-third, or about $330 per month, or end their benefits entirely.
Connecticut had 65,977 SSI recipients as of March 2026, according to data from the Social Security Administration, with more than 57,700 in the blind and disabled category. For those residents and hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on others for support, the disappearance of that aid will likely be damaging.
This erosion of support comes at a challenging time with rising costs, and will impact individuals of all ages. Younger adults with disabilities like Down syndrome and low-functioning autism, who live with low-income parents, and older adults with health problems or experiencing poverty, living with adult children, will all potentially lose care, ProPublica reported.
The Washington Post reported last year that the White House attempted to end similar support for those in need in 2025 through cutting Social Security Disability Insurance recipients but abandoned that effort after it received public attention.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found the 2025 effort, focused on eliminating or limiting age as a qualification factor for benefits, would have stripped aid from up to 20% of SSDI recipients, representing cuts of 750,000 people in the span of a decade.
Under standing policy, most recently updated during the Biden administration, if a household receives benefits like SNAP or other public assistance, that family is deemed unable to financially support a disabled loved one living there, and the family member receives their full benefits as a result.
The proposed rule change would require anyone living at home beyond the age of 18 without paying full rent to be considered to have a benefactor, with the value of their bedroom and any family income and assets calculated and removed from their SSI check.
As proposed, the rule is currently under review and could take up to one year to be finalized.
By Joe O’Leary
