A First Message To Staff From The New Commissioner

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast <Commissioner.Broadcast@ssa.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2025 12:55 AM
Subject: A Message from Commissioner Frank Bisignano

A Message to All SSA and DDS Employees

Subject: A Message from Commissioner Frank Bisignano 

Humble are those who serve. Social Security fundamentally serves every American household. I am humbled to have been nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the 18th Commissioner of Social Security. 

The President has been clear: we will protect Social Security. Through the advice and consent process, the U.S. Senate has been clear: we will provide the best possible service to beneficiaries. Together, we will strengthen Social Security and make the Social Security Administration a premier organization. We will lead with the highest level of service, financial control, increased teamwork, and greater efficiency. People will want to come to work, and we will do good work.

As Commissioner, I will travel to our offices in the field, visit phone centers, and ensure we have the right systems in place for every Social Security staff member to be successful.

My father was a 46-year Department of Treasury employee. He was the hardest working person I’ve ever known. I see the federal workforce from that vantage point.  

I’ve seen a horrific terrorist attack, a financial crisis, and a mortgage crisis first-hand. In each case, we made a plan, executed with excellence, and delivered the best possible outcome.  

For us at Social Security, our opportunity to touch every American household and deliver the best possible outcome is fully in our control. 

I can’t wait to get to work with all of you.

Frank Bisignano

Commissioner

Fifteen House Republicans Express Concern Over Further Cuts At Social Security

      From Politico:

A group of House Republicans is sounding the alarm over recent staffing cuts and plans for more cut-backs across the Social Security Administration — a target of the Department of Government Efficiency’s rampage across the federal bureaucracy.

In a new letter to President Donald Trump’s newly-confirmed social security chief, Rep. Nicole Malliotokis of New York and 14 other House Republicans are pressing Frank Bisignano to hold off on any further agency cuts that could “further deteriorate customer service that has been subpar in recent years.”  ...

Republicans who signed the letter to Bisignano include Reps. Jeff Hurd of Colorado, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Gabe Evans of Colorado, David Valadao of California, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Jen Kiggans of Virginia, Mike Ezell of Mississippi, Mike Turner of Ohio, Zack Nunn of Iowa and Mike Lawler of New York. Three Pennsylvanians were also among the Republicans who added their names to the missive: Reps. Ryan Mackenzie, Brian Fitzpatrick and Rob Bresnahan.

 

Bisignano Confirmed

      Frank Bisignano has been confirmed as Commissioner of Social Security,

Dudek Op Ed

      Social Security’s Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek has penned (or more likely someone penned for him) an Op Ed in the right wing NY Post. Warning: You may find it infuriating.

     I think we can now say that the Social Security Administration is thoroughly politicized.

Profile In Courage

      Ms. magazine has a nice piece out titled “Profiles in Courage: Michelle King Refused to Hand Over Your Data to DOGE. Then She Lost Her Job.” It’s worth a read.

What Do You Expect From Frank Bisignano?

      Frank Bisignano is likely to be confirmed as Social Security Commissioner tomorrow. What do you expect from him?

     More than anything else I’m expecting harshness towards the public and Social Security employees. We may see novel interpretations of the Social Security Act to end benefits for whole categories of people. We may see basic refusal to provide categories of service to the public. We may see targeted firings of employees on the theory that doing so will somehow increase the productivity of those not fired — the “pour encourager les autres” theory. I’m almost certain there will be a lot of thrashing about attempting to look audacious. Those are my very general guesses. What are yours?

Big Social Security Fraud Scheme — In Brazil

      From the BBC:

Brazil's Social Security Minister, Carlos Lupi, has resigned nine days after police unveiled a major corruption scandal which defrauded pensioners of $1.1bn (£829m). 

Federal police allege that over the past decade, the National Social Security Institute (INSS) made unauthorised deductions from payments made to millions of pensioners.  

The money was allegedly paid to several associations and unions, which then shared the earnings with corrupt government officials.  

Lupi has always denied any wrongdoing and said he ordered an investigation as soon as he heard about the allegations. …

DOGE Requests SCOTUS Intervention

      From The Hill:

The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to let the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access millions of Americans’ personal data stored by the Social Security Administration (SSA) while it appeals an order that iced the advisory group out. 

The emergency application asks the justices to lift a Maryland federal judge’s injunction blocking DOGE from poking around the SSA’s systems that contain personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers, medical and mental health records, bank data, and earnings history.  …