Topline
Senators questioned Frank Bisignano, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Social Security Administration (SSA), at a confirmation hearing Tuesday amid turmoil at the agency—as cuts by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have decimated phone service and threaten to affect Americans’ benefits.
Frank Bisignano, resident Donald Trump’s nominee to be Commissioner of Social Security ... More
Key Facts
The Senate Finance Committee questioned Bisignano Tuesday, the first step in his confirmation process before the committee, and then potentially the full Senate, votes on whether to approve his nomination.
Bisignano is a Wall Street veteran who’s served as the CEO of Fiserv, a payment processing company, since 2020, with Trump hailing his “tremendous track record of transforming large corporations” when announcing Bisignano’s nomination at Social Security.
He previously served as JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s co-chief operating officer and CEO of mortgage banking, and held multiple leadership roles at Citigroup.
Bisignano said Tuesday he believed his role at SSA will be a “bipartisan job” and he’s guided by the quote, “The only just government is government that serves its citizens, not itself,” also saying he’s “never thought” about privatizing SSA and wants to reduce phone wait times and improve service at the agency.
Bisignano previously told CNBC in February that his desire is to root out “fraud, waste and abuse” without “touch[ing] benefits,” and he will “100% work with DOGE” and that his past work trying to build efficiency in the private sector makes him “fundamentally a DOGE person.”
The Social Security head faced sharp questioning from Democrats as Musk’s DOGE has made cuts at the agency, with Bisignano offering mixed comments about the Musk-helmed group—not explicitly denouncing its work, but saying that while he would heed DOGE’s “input” at Social Security, he intended to be the ultimate decision maker at the agency.
What Did Bisignano Say At His Confirmation Hearing?
In his opening statement to senators, Bisignano said he would be an “accountable leader” at SSA who wants to make Social Security a “premier service” for beneficiaries, with aims to reduce phone wait times, processing times for disability claims and error rates. Under questioning from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Bisignano also claimed he does not want to privatize Social Security, saying he has “never thought” about privatizing the agency and views it as a government service. The nominee also said he would “follow the law” if Trump ever asked him to do something illegal, though he claimed he “can’t ever imagine the president asking that.” He was noncommittal when asked about his thoughts on major changes to Social Security—like raising an income cap so that higher earners pay more into Social Security—saying those issues would be up to Congress.
Is Frank Bisignano Working With Doge On Social Security?
Bisignano faced sharp questioning Tuesday from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the committee’s ranking member, who pushed back after the SSA nominee claimed he had not spoken with any DOGE officials about the agency. Wyden said a high-ranking official at SSA had spoken with senators and said Bisignano had “personally intervened” at the agency and insisted on personally approving DOGE officials working at SSA, with the anonymous whistleblower saying Bisignano would be “bad for the agency.” Bisignano denied those claims, though he said he did know SSA’s chief information officer through their work in the private sector and they “sent me a note” when they came into the agency. “That’s really about it,” the nominee said. Wyden said he doesn’t “believe that this whistleblower would make this up,” and asked for the Senate Finance Committee to investigate the claims further. Bisignano also did not explicitly say he’d lock DOGE officials out of Social Security systems, but said he was focused on protecting beneficiaries’ privacy, and suggested he would be willing to reverse any changes DOGE has already made at the agency if he felt those changes were “inappropriate.” “I’m planning on running the agency, reporting to the president,” Bisignano said, arguing Trump “made it clear that DOGE is there for input, but the agency makes the decisions.” The nominee also suggested SSA’s acting chief Leland Dudek was more to blame for recent chaos at the agency than DOGE due to Dudek’s inexperience, saying, “I don’t know if this is a DOGE issue, I think we have a leadership issue.”
What Did Lawmakers Say About Bisignano’s Nomination?
Democrats were sharply skeptical of Bisignano during his confirmation hearing, pressuring the nominee to denounce DOGE’s actions and decrying the cuts the Musk-helmed group has made to SSA. ““DOGE has taken a sledgehammer to the Social Security Administration,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said, accusing Musk of using “backdoor” tactics to cut Social Security payments by making the system unsustainable through job and office cuts, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., questioned the efficacy of Social Security laying off its workforce while it was already stretched thin. Wyden accused Bisignano of thinking artificial intelligence is a “silver bullet” for improving Social Security and criticized the nominee for being largely noncommittal during the hearing, saying at the end of the confirmation hearing, “You have taken a pass on giving us any ideas and you want us to accept that because you have some background in business, we should accept you at face value.” Republicans, meanwhile, were much more favorable about Bisignano, with committee chair Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, telling Bisignano, “You are the person that needs to have this job” and promising to move forward “expeditiously” with his nomination.
What To Watch For
It’s still unclear when the Senate Finance Committee will vote on Bisignano’s nomination following his confirmation hearing Tuesday, and when the full Senate could consider whether to confirm him. Bisignano is so far widely expected to be confirmed.
What’s Happening At Social Security Right Now?
Bisignano’s confirmation hearing comes as SSA has been in Musk and his DOGE crew’s crosshairs, as Musk has sought to get rid of purported waste at the agency and repeatedly claimed there’s widespread benefits fraud. There is no evidence to support those claims: Experts say that while there is some limited evidence of fraud in the system, it’s nowhere near the level Musk claims, and the billionaire’s allegations that the agency is paying benefits to dead Americans appears based on a misunderstanding of the agency’s antiquated databases. Acting SSA administrator Leland Dudek announced in February the agency would cut 7,500 jobs—out of approximately 57,000 in total—and the agency has also whittled down its number of field offices. SSA also planned to cut services for Americans to manage their benefits over the phone—a service used by approximately 40% of Social Security recipients, per The Washington Post—though The Post reports the agency scaled back those plans after public reports resulted in outcry. The agency still plans to bar Americans from being able to change their bank information over the phone, however, which is set to take effect next week. Musk and DOGE have also sought access to sensitive information in Social Security’s database, though a federal judge has blocked DOGE’s access to that data while litigation moves forward.
How Are The Changes Impacting Americans’ Social Security Benefits?
While Trump and Musk have both vowed not to cut any Social Security benefits, the widespread changes at the agency are reportedly significantly hampering services. Phone calls to Social Security are recently resulting in wait times of up to five hours amid cuts to staffing and office closures, The Post reported Tuesday, also noting the agency’s website crashed four times within the span of 10 days this month, preventing people from logging on to the system. Processing times for online claims have also gotten backed up, employees told The Post, while staff cuts and orders for workers to return to offices that don’t have enough space to hold them all have cratered employee morale. Biden-era SSA administrator Martin O’Malley has made dire predictions about how DOGE’s cuts could impact service at the agency, telling CNBC on March 1, “Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits.” “People should start saving now,” O’Malley said, predicting the system could be disrupted “within the next 30 to 90 days.”
What Has The Trump Administration Said About Social Security?
Top Trump officials have drawn widespread scrutiny for their comments about Social Security, even as they’ve promised not to cut any benefits. Musk has decried Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme,” for instance, while Trump himself spoke about purported fraud within the agency during his address to a joint session of Congress. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also garnered criticism for suggesting only people defrauding Social Security would complain if they didn’t receive their monthly payment for the agency, claiming, “The easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen, because whoever screams is the one stealing.”
