Former Maryland Gov. O'Malley Confirmed to Lead Social Security Agency

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley speaks during the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. on July 27, 2016. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has been confirmed by the Senate in a 50-11 vote on Dec. 18 as commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Ahead of his confirmation, Mr. O'Malley was first approved by the Senate Finance Committee by a margin of 17–10 on Nov. 28, four months after President Joe Biden picked the former governor to fill the position on July 26.

Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) all voted in favor of confirming Mr. O'Malley, as did all of the committee’s Democrats.

Disagreement regarding the candidate, who has some support from both parties, occurred over the dismissal of his predecessor, former Commissioner Andrew Saul, who was one of the few holdovers nominated by former President Donald Trump.

At the Finance Committee confirmation hearing, the question of whether Mr. Saul’s ousting had politicized the office was a contentious subject between Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).

“I base my support for Martin O'Malley on the fact that every single time we have talked, he has emphasized one matter and one matter only, and that is service above politics,” Mr. Wyden said during his opening remarks. “I urge my colleagues to support him.”

Mr. Crapo mentioned President Biden’s removal of Mr. Saul, and said of Mr. O'Malley, “I will not be supporting his nomination today.”

‘Strong Concern’

“When the Biden administration removed the last Senate-confirmed commissioner prior to the completion of his six-year term, I expressed strong concern that this decision politicized the SSA to the detriment of Social Security beneficiaries,” he said.

“It is important for commissioners to have sufficient time and certainty to implement real changes,” he explained.

“Now that the precedent has been set to shorten the commissioner’s term, future administrations could follow it.”

Responding to Mr. Crapo’s concerns, Mr. Wyden referenced multiple court cases in which “the Supreme Court ruled that single agency heads served at the pleasure of the president.”

Near the end of his comments, Mr. Crapo assured the committee chairman and nominee that, “If [he is] confirmed, I will work with Gov. O'Malley on this and other issues in a bipartisan manner.

“Although I will not be voting in favor of Gov. O'Malley’s nomination today, we do share the goal of getting the Social Security Administration back on track so that it can provide the public with the level of service they expect and deserve.”

When nominating Mr. O'Malley, President Biden described the former governor as a “lifelong public servant” who had improved the way “millions of people accessed critical services.”

“As mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland, he adopted data and performance-driven technologies to tackle complex challenges facing the communities he served—and I saw the results firsthand when we worked together during my time as vice president,” President Biden said.

Responding to his nomination in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr. O'Malley said he was “humbled and honored” to be chosen by the president to lead the SSA.

“President Biden believes Social Security is a sacred promise,” Mr. O'Malley said. “I look forward to earning the Senate’s approval and serving with the hardworking patriots” at the SSA.

In addition to serving as governor of Maryland from 2007 until 2015, Mr. O'Malley was mayor of Baltimore for two terms.

He entered the Democratic primaries for president in 2016. But after unsatisfactory results in the caucuses, he decided to withdraw his candidacy and ruled out running again for president.

Between 1991 and 1999, Mr. Malley served on the Baltimore City Council and worked as an assistant state’s attorney before becoming the mayor of Baltimore.