Report: Federal Judges ‘Rubberstamped’ Billions In Wrongful Disability Claims
Charlie Kirk Staff
04/08/2025

Activist judges are “rubber stamping” Social Security disability claims, overriding officials who determined that those claims were not valid.
The information was revealed in an exclusive analysis by The Daily Wire in a report this week.
Jennifer M. Horne, who serves as one of the Social Security Administration’s “regional chief administrative law judges” and who is in charge of the San Francisco hearing office, approved every case she heard last year.
Another judge, Ronald Herman, who handled cases near the Detroit area, ruled in favor of the claimant in 95 percent of cases.
Jan Leventer, a judge for Queens and Detroit, ruled in favor of the disability payments in 93 percent of cases.
An attorney who represents people who are seeking Social Security disability payments spoke to The Daily Wire and revealed that the game is to simply get in front of a judge.
“It’s all a political bent,” the attorney, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said to The Daily Wire. “If [the judge is] a person that says ‘this is a social contract that we make with people,’ if [the claimant says] they’re disabled, then they are. If they’re a person who believes everyone’s a liar and a cheat, then it’s single digits.”
“I don’t think there’s any real lawyering to it. The game is to get as many hearings as I can because 50% are getting approved no matter what if I just show up,” he said. “I’ve had people with cancer not get approved, and people with skin rashes get approved. I can’t predict it anymore.”
A Washington D.C> area judge, who is a white supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, was overheard saying that he believes many of his colleagues see their jobs as a way to get checks to minorities.
“Social Security staff determine whether someone is entitled to disability payments, and claimants can appeal to staff for a ‘redetermination’ if they are rejected. If that panel also concludes that they are not disabled, they can appeal again to an administrative law judge,” the report said.
“Outcomes in those proceedings largely depend on which judge the applicant gets. Even though one might assume that they would defer to the judgment of Social Security experts, 85 judges overturned Social Security rulings that a person was not disabled more than 80% of the time,” it said.
A mere 16 of judges erred on the side of the SSA, ruling in its favor in more than 80 percent of cases.