When President Joe Biden gave his 2023 State of the Union address on Tuesday night, February 7, he aggressively vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare from GOP efforts to “sunset” or undermine those programs. Biden made it clear that he was not talking about all Republicans or all conservatives, but he was definitely calling out the Republicans who believe that Social Security and Medicare should be abolished or privatized.

Far-right Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), for example, has proposed that Social Security and Medicare, instead of being renewed automatically, should be reevaluated by Congress every five years. After a five-year period, Scott has argued, Congress should be required to either refund the programs or terminate them. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has criticized Scott’s proposal as a bad idea.

A common talking point on the far right is that Social Security and Medicare are unsustainable in their current form and need to be either ended or turned over to the private sector.