‘I don’t see this institution as anything other than a government agency that gets run for the benefit of the American public,’ Frank Bisignano told senators.
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration said during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he has not spoken about privatizing the agency and pledged to protect the agency during cuts.
“I’ve never thought about privatizing,” Frank Bisignano said during the Senate Finance Committee hearing in response to a question about potential privatization.
“It’s not a word that anybody’s ever talked to me about, and I don’t see this institution as anything other than a government agency that gets run for the benefit of the American public.”
In the hearing, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the ranking member on the Finance Committee, alleged that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) want to make cuts to Social Security.
Wyden noted that Musk had called the Social Security system a “Ponzi scheme.”
“The DOGE crowd is breaking a sacred promise to deliver Americans their earned Social Security benefits,” Wyden said. “Today’s hearing is going to be an opportunity for our nominee to tell the American people: Whose side is he on?”
“I believe it’s a promise to pay,” Bisignano said, responding about Musk’s “Ponzi scheme” comment. “It’s an 89-year institution so far. It will continue.”
Musk and DOGE have highlighted how millions of individuals aged 120 or older, with some as old as 300 years, are listed as eligible for Social Security payments. DOGE has also made announcements that Social Security is working to clean up its rolls, including in a post on X on Monday evening.
Bisignano, who’s the former head of financial services company Fiserv and a former JPMorgan Chase executive, on Tuesday told senators that he would “get the error rate down” in Social Security payments.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, later told Bisignano to “take a thoughtful, measured, and data-driven approach” and communicate with the committee about any changes.
“I don’t think anyone would appreciate not getting their Social Security check on time,” Bisignano said, adding that if any effort to change the agency was “inappropriate,” “it would be changed.”
Some Republicans have in the past called for privatizing Social Security, while advocates for retirees and the disabled say privatizing the agency could result in reduced benefit payments to millions of Americans who rely on them.
The confirmation hearing comes as the massive retirement system, which pays out $1.4 trillion in benefits to 73 million elderly and disabled Americans annually, has made cuts and changes in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the agency said that some recipients would have to show up in person at offices for some services.
A federal judge this past week also blocked DOGE from accessing Social Security systems that contain personally identifying data, citing privacy concerns. This sparked a warning from acting Social Security head Lee Dudek, who said that the agency might be forced to shut down as a result.
On March 21, however, Dudek released a statement saying that after more guidance from the judge, he could affirm that the agency would not be closed down.
Reuters contributed to this report.