U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick misspoke when he commented about citizen reactions to the Trump administration’s handling of Social Security — at least, that’s what Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick seems to think.

Rich stopped by “TMZ Live” Monday and, while he’s giving Lutnick the benefit of the doubt, he thinks compassion is key when it comes to Social Security — after all, it’s people’s own money coming back to them — and they should never be denied their benefits.

Secretary Lutnick said on a podcast last week that anyone who complains about delayed or missing Social Security payments is a “fraudster.” Lutnick, who is a billionaire, said his 94-year-old mother-in-law would not call to complain if she didn’t get her check this month, and explicitly said “whoever screams is the one stealing.”

ICYMI … Elon Musk‘s DOGE squad has recently been challenged after trying to access sensitive information in the Social Security system in an attempt to root out fraud … and a Trump admin official briefly suggested payments would be delayed or halted, provoking a political firestorm.

Rich McCormick breaks down his take to us, asserting there’s definitely some fraud in Social Security claims, but he makes it clear the average Joe shouldn’t be denied their hard-earned money.

With the backlash in full swing, Rich also dug into how President Trump has handled the situation — and hammered home the real issue is saving the Social Security program.

Aubrey Plaza was out for a stroll with her dog, taking some much-needed chill time — the sighting coming after we revealed she and her late husband, Jeff Baena, had been separated for months before he took his life.

The actress was spotted at L.A.’s famous Griffith Park over the weekend with producer Tyler Davidson — soaking up nature and the great weather, deep in conversation.

It wasn’t exactly a power walk — the vibe felt a bit somber. But as we know, Aubrey’s still grieving after TMZ broke the news that Baena was found dead in his L.A. home in January.

Last week, TMZ reported Aubrey and Jeff had been separated for several months before his passing. According to the medical examiner’s report — obtained by TMZ — their separation was officially noted as September 2024.

Officers say Aubrey told them Jeff made some concerning remarks in October, leading her to call a friend for a welfare check. Since then, Baena had been attending therapy.

He died on January 3.

RIP

Derik Queen put the Maryland Terrapins on his back and hit a game-winning shot to punch their tickets to the Sweet 16 … and he tells TMZ Sports the best part about it is he was there for the seniors when they needed him most.

We caught up with the star of Sunday’s action after Maryland beat the Colorado State Rams in a nail-biting 72-71 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament … and Queen was still riding high off the outcome a day later.

In case you missed it, the 20-year-old freshman got the ball with 3.7 seconds left in the contest … and drove to the hoop to sink a TOUGH bank shot with the entire season on the line.

Queen said the Terps have a ton of team chemistry … so if anyone else had spoken up ahead of the final play, there would have been full faith in that guy, too.