On Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee voted to advance the nomination of Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Social Security Administration, to be commissioner of the SSA. Now, his confirmation will advance to the full Senate.
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“Mr. Bisignano has more than 30 years of strong, executive leadership experience and knows how to enact his bold vision of delivering better customer service for Social Security beneficiaries,” said Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) in a statement. “[He] would also draw on his decades of experience to improve SSA’s payment accuracy. When SSA issues an improper payment, it places a burden on the affected beneficiaries, agency employees and taxpayers. “
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However, following news of his advancement, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said that Bisignano “lied multiple times to every member of this Committee … about his actions and communications with [Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)] and the Social Security Administration prior to his hearing.”
Sen. Wyden said that his office “received an account from a whistleblower about the ways the nominee was deeply involved in and aware of DOGE’s activities at the agency … Let me address the allegations made during Mr. Bisignano’s nomination hearing that he ‘lied about his connections to DOGE and its efforts to break Social Security …,’” said Sen. Crapo. “Mr. Bisignano does not currently hold a position at the Social Security Administration, let alone a decision-making position.”
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Bisignano, who became CEO of the payment processing giant Fiserv in 2020, was nominated by President Trump in December. SSA’s acting commissioner, Michelle King, resigned after a dispute with DOGE in February over the group’s efforts to access sensitive government records. Trump quickly appointed Leland Dudek, a manager in charge of SSA’s anti-fraud office, as the new acting commissioner.
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Last week, Bisignano, a self-professed “efficiency guy” or “DOGE person,” faced tough questions by Senate Democrats at the Senate Finance Committee hearing. He was called to account for the recent upheaval at the SSA, which has been a target of DOGE efforts to cut costs at the agency by firing workers and closing offices. However, it has been projected that SSA, which manages Social Security payments for about 72.5 million retirees, disabled people and children, will have funds depleted around 2035.
Democrats on the committee repeatedly pressed Bisignano on whether he supports cuts to Social Security and if he agrees with Musk that the program is a “Ponzi scheme.” He avoided directly answering those questions, but pledged to make sure Americans continue to receive Social Security benefits. “I’ve been told by the president to ensure that we preserve and protect Social Security,” he said,
If confirmed by the full Senate, Bisignano testified he would “ensure that every beneficiary receives their payments on time, that disability claims are processed in the manner they should be.”