President Trump’s nominee to run the Social Security Administration (SSA), Frank Bisignano, vowed to crack down on fraud and to protect Americans’ personal data in a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, while also dismissing suggestions he wants to privatize a federal agency that provides retirement, disability and other benefits to more than 70 million Americans.
Like other government agencies, the SSA has been targeted for major job cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a reduction in force that former agency officials and other experts warn could greatly hinder the delivery of services to Social Security recipients.
In February, the SSA announced it would slash 7,000 of its 57,000 workers. Former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley, who led the agency under the Biden administration from December 2023 to November 2024, expects the actual number to be closer to 10,000 workers.
Who is Frank Bisignano?
Even before his inauguration in January, Mr. Trump announced the nomination of Bisignano, CEO of financial technology company Fiserv, calling him a business leader “with a tremendous track record of transforming large corporations.” In a social media post, Mr. Trump highlighted Bisignano’s “long career leading financial services institutions through great transformation.”
Bisignano has served as Fiserv’s chief executive since July 2020, and the company has seen strong growth during his tenure. Fiserv’s stock price, which was around $100 when Bisignano took the helm, has more than doubled since then. The company reported revenue of $20.5 billion for the year ended Dec. 31 2024, up from roughly $15 billion in 2020.
Previously, Bisignano led Fiserv’s 2019 merger with First Data Corp., where he had been chairman and CEO since 2013. He is credited in his bio with turning the payment processor into a “technology innovator.”
Prior to leading First Data, Bisignano had a career on Wall Street as co-chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., and also previously held senior positions at Citigroup.
What are potential concerns about Bisignano leading SSA?
In a March 23 letter to Bisignano, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden — both members of the Senate panel that will consider his nomination — expressed concern about the ongoing cost-cutting efforts at the agency.
“We write regarding our concerns about the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts — in conjunction with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — to hollow out the Social Security Administration (SSA) and deprive Americans of Social Security benefits they earned and need,” the lawmakers wrote. “In recent days, SSA officials have intensified their efforts to undermine the program, imposing burdensome administrative requirements on beneficiaries while simultaneously cutting thousands of agency jobs and closing dozens of Social Security offices.”
On the campaign trail in 2024, Mr. Trump promised not to touch the Social Security program, which provides monthly financial payments to roughly 1 in 5 Americans.
Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, also want Bisignano to vow not to privatize any part of Social Security, a move they say would benefit private-sector players like Fiserv.
“Already, financial services firms are salivating at the possibility of profiting off of Americans’ hard-earned retirement benefits,” the lawmakers said in their letter. “Even your own payment firm, Fiserv — which ‘enables money movement for thousands of financial institutions and millions of people’ — could theoretically benefit form a privatization of Social Security.”
By contrast, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo and an Idaho Republican, said in a March statement that Bisignano’s private-sector experience “make him exceptionally qualified for the task ahead.”
In Tuesday’s hearing Bisignano repeatedly said he hasn’t thought about privatizing the agency, responding to a suggestion from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, that the Trump administration’s aim is to discredit the system and then send in “tech bros and private equity folks” to “save” it.
When Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, asked Bisignano if he would “lock DOGE out of databases” that workers have accessed, the nominee said that personally identifiable information “will not be exposed.”
“I am going to do whatever is required to protect the information,” he said.
Bisignano did not explicitly commit to opposing such a scheme, but rather answered that “my job is to ensure claims are processed in the manner they should be.”
What do advocates for seniors have to say?
Some advocacy groups that represent older Americans also question if Bisignano is the right person to lead the SSA.
“Mr. Bisignano’s experience in the private sector could bring some fresh ideas to the SSA. Still, we are concerned about whether he’s truly ready to handle the complexities of such an important public service,” The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonprofit that advocates for benefits recipients, told CBS MoneyWatch.
“Will he fully understand the struggles of many Social Security recipients or connect with their challenges? That remains to be seen,” TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton said. “The key issue is finding the right balance between introducing new ideas and protecting Social Security as an essential public program.”
After Bisignano was nominated in December, the Alliance for Retired Americans, an advocacy organization founded by the AFL-CIO, also raised questions about his lack of experience dealing with social services for seniors and disabled people.
“Nothing in Mr. Bisignano’s career suggests that he understands the unique needs of older and disabled Americans. His record in the private sector doesn’t instill confidence that he will protect beneficiaries from plans to dismantle and replace the SSA workforce with AI chatbots,” Richard Fiesta, executive director at the Alliance, said in a statement at the time.
