From NOTUS:
Morale at the Social Security Administration — which is at a 59-year staffing low due to the Trump administration’s sweeping workforce cuts — is poor.
To fix it, SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano has twice sent staff packages of chocolate-covered pretzels. They’re from his daughter’s company, Pretzables, emblazoned with Pretzable’s branding, website and phone number, as well as a line thanking employees for their work.
The pretzels, staff tell NOTUS, have not addressed the underlying morale issue. (“It’s tone-deaf,” one SSA field office employee said.) They have, however, raised even more questions around Bisignano’s leadership — specifically around the ethics of sending staff pretzels from his daughter’s company.
It’s hard to imagine anyone thinking it would be OK for the government to pay for these pretzels but this is the Trump Administration and anything goes so I’d like to hear the question answered.
22 comments:
The grifting never stops.
Tax payers subsidizing the nepo babies loser business!
Not being sarcastic but I’m sure agency funds were not used. Still it’s the appearance of ethical issue that’s part of problem. Some other questions:
* Did Frank send pretzels to the people on 800# who are overworked and underpaid? I’ve not seen either Pretzel Gate instance mention then so guess not.
* What about the SSA employees who process disability claims? Don’t think so.
* Did Frank send pretzels to any IRS employees?
I’d love to know which items were sent, the retail for each items, how much Frank paid for each item. And total spent on SSA per instance.
Bisignano should have asked before he acted.
Patel should investigate pretzelgate.
🥨
I work from home everyday. Will he send them to my house please?
Slow news day, Chuck?
Frank, like his boss, is a famously greedy sonofabitch, so I wouldn’t be so sure about that
We had “pretzel day” at CO. Was thinking soft pretzels? …not soft and not chocolate covered either. Just little bags of plain pretzels. No idea who is getting the chocolate covered ones.
Any retro-stress chocolate pretzels available for retirees? My stress magically disappeared, but I still want some delicious chocolate nepo pretzels!! Yum Yum
Apparently he hasn't watched The Office when Stanley get super excited about pretzel day. Lmao
Pretzables. What a dumb name.
Ate one, they're not that good.
Frank was a huge supporter of DOGE cuts and he thinks the way back to the employees good graces is through pretzels. I would rather have my former colleagues back in the office.
These pretzables....are making me thirsty
Of all the many issues and decisions that should be criticized this is not worth the time. Many sources say FB paid for them himself. A nothing burger.
I like pretzels Frank! Where’s mine?
We received it at the hearing office. I’m guessing they were purchased for IRS employees also to promote his daughter’s business. Seems completely unethical: No, a federal employee generally cannot send food to other offices to promote their family's business, as this could be seen as using their official position for private gain, soliciting prohibited gifts, or violating ethics rules against using government resources or time for personal business. While small, modest food items might be acceptable as gifts under specific exceptions (like for personal friendship), actively promoting a commercial venture in the workplace, especially to colleagues who might be "prohibited sources," is a major conflict of interest and usually forbidden.
Some SSA field office managers received a Fed-Ex delivery of Pretzables yesterday. It wasn't clear if it was for the manager/management/the staff (not really enough to share with the whole staff in my office). Wondering if all SSA teams/field offices got it too. If all IRS teams/management got the same? Maybe it was a nice gesture from the COSS personal income? Hopefully this wasn't an agency expenditure. It is giving pizza party vibes or maybe worse if it was just a way to move around some money. Or pay off COSS for scratching someone's back. Or inflate the value of the company to help his daughter. I want to be appreciative but there are a lot better and cheaper ways COSS could appreciate me (like re-stestablishing prior telework posture).
Company also appears to be affiliated with COSS daughter (owned by her)? Idk everything about this administration just makes me feel like we should be following the money... or is it just me? I'm honestly scared to even try one. Has someone smarter than me already followed the money on this one?
I thought SSA had a shipping contract with UPS?
Many sources? Got a citation for that?
Just because you lack any sense of ethics doesn’t mean corruption is nothing to worry about.
My theory: the pretzels were intended as an insult (even Frank isn’t dumb enough to think this would meaningfully help with morale) and using his daughter’s business to acquire them was intended to rub his power and freedom to abuse his power in our faces.
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