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WASHINGTON (AP) — Wall Street veteran Frank Bisignano was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday to lead the Social Security Administration, taking over at a turbulent time for the agency that provides benefits to more than 70 million Americans.
The Senate confirmed Bisignano in a 53-47 vote.
Bisignano’s confirmation comes after a months-long series of announcements at the Social Security Administration of mass federal worker layoffs, cuts to programs, office closures and a planned cut to nationwide Social Security phone services, which were eventually walked back.
Many of the changes are driven by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, headed by billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who said this week that he is preparing to wind down his role with the administration. The upheaval has made Social Security a major focus of Democrats, including former President Joe Biden, who said in his first public speech since leaving office that Republican President Donald Trump has “taken a hatchet” to the program.
Bisignano, a self-professed “DOGE person,” has served as chair of Fiserv, a payments and financial services tech firm since 2020. He is a one-time defender of corporate policies to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. Bisignano takes over from the agency’s acting commissioner, DOGE supporter Leland Dudek. Bisignano’s term ends in January 2031.
Asked during his March confirmation hearing whether Social Security should be privatized, Bisignano responded: “I’ve never heard a word of it, and I’ve never thought about it.”
Democrats and activists have for weeks railed against Bisignano’s confirmation, holding rallies and other events protesting his nomination.
During the final roll call vote, Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden called Bisignano “unfit” to be the steward of Americans’ Social Security benefits. Wyden said Trump wants Bisignano to “gut” Social security, and that Republicans who support Bisignano’s confirmation would be to responsible if their grandmother misses a Social Security check and can’t pay rent.
“By confirming Mr. Bisignano, the Senate will be signing a death sentence to Social Security as we know it today,” Wyden said.
The chaos at the the agency began shortly after acting commissioner Michelle King stepped down in February, a move that came after DOGE sought access to Social Security recipient information. That prompted a lawsuit by labor unions and retirees, who asked a federal court to issue an emergency order limiting DOGE’s access to Social Security data.
Most recently, the full panel of judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 9-6 not to lift restrictions on the access that DOGE has to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.
Also in February, the agency announced plans to cut 7,000 people from the agency payroll through layoffs, employee reassignments and an offer of voluntary separation agreements, as part of an intensified effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce.
Dudek also announced a plan to require in-person identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices. That sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population. That plan has since been rolled back.
The SSA provides benefits to roughly 72.5 million people, including retirees and children.
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