Frank Bisignano, President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Social Security Administration, got grilled by senators on Tuesday during a public hearing in Washington.
They demanded answers about his ties to D.O.G.E., the White House-backed “efficiency” unit that’s already knee-deep in federal agencies and facing a federal restraining order.
According to information from CNBC and congressional records, Frank’s name came up in multiple internal complaints about D.O.G.E.’s growing influence over Social Security operations.
The committee hearing happened under the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Mike Crapo, with Oregon Senator Ron Wyden leading the opposition. The spotlight was on Frank’s prior moves, including his reported influence on hiring, access to internal databases, and personal relationships with key players already embedded at Social Security.
Wyden says nominee had role in D.O.G.E staffing and oversight
During the hearing, Ron said Social Security is failing to deliver basic services since D.O.G.E changes kicked in. He blamed agency delays on staffing cuts and closed field offices. “Seniors are getting lost in the system,” he said, pointing to broken websites and phone lines that ring endlessly without being answered.
Ron told the room the hearing was Frank’s shot to explain “whose side he is on.” Frank currently serves as CEO of Fiserv, a financial company that moves around $2.5 trillion in payments every day. At the hearing, Frank said the Social Security Administration deals with about 74 million payments each month, which he called a manageable load compared to what his company handles.
Frank also said he’s never spoken with Lee Dudek, the current acting commissioner at the agency, but admitted knowing Michael Russo, who is the chief information officer. He described Michael as a tech professional he’s worked with before. “I don’t know him as a D.O.G.E person; I know him as a CIO,” Frank said when asked if Russo was one of the D.O.G.E-linked appointments.
Ron then read out a written statement from someone who identified themselves as a “very high-level official” who recently left Social Security.
That person alleged Frank not only stayed involved in daily operations before confirmation but also demanded final say on new hires. “This whistleblower has said that this is a nominee who will be bad for the agency, and has cited specifics,” Ron said.
Frank didn’t deny involvement in some staffing decisions but pushed back on claims of overreach. He said he didn’t understand what it meant to “lock D.O.G.E out” when pressed about cutting their access to sensitive federal systems. “I’m going to do whatever is required to protect the information that is private information,” he replied.
Federal judge blocks D.O.G.E from handling private SSA data
On March 20, federal judge Ellen Lipton Hollander issued a temporary restraining order banning D.O.G.E from accessing personally identifiable information stored by the Social Security Administration. The court also told every D.O.G.E-linked contractor to erase all data already in their hands.
The list of restricted data includes Social Security numbers, employment records, mental health and medical treatment files, tax documents, addresses, bank details, and employee payment history. That court order followed growing complaints that D.O.G.E had bypassed internal safeguards and wasn’t following federal privacy law.
In a February interview on CNBC, Frank said he “100%” plans to collaborate with D.O.G.E to identify fraud and waste at Social Security. “I am fundamentally a D.O.G.E person,” he said at the time. On Tuesday, he clarified that comment by saying, “I’ve focused on efficiency before there was such a word as D.O.G.E.”
The whistleblower, whose written testimony was submitted by Ron, said Frank’s involvement ran deeper than he admitted. The statement claimed Frank frequently spoke to senior executives, asked for briefings on key internal decisions, and even told hiring managers not to bring on new staff without checking with him first.
They also said Frank helped pick out several people now working under the agency umbrella, including Michael Russo, attorney Mark Steffenson, Scott Coulter, and D.O.G.E engineer Akash Bobba. According to the whistleblower, Frank had private conversations with these individuals and gave the green light on their roles. The person said this level of involvement was unusual and risky for someone not yet confirmed.
The same testimony raised red flags about D.O.G.E employees being granted wide access to Social Security databases, which allegedly violated internal policies and ignored basic privacy rules. “These actions will harm seniors,” the person wrote.
That whistleblower also named 19 people who could back up their account, including Lee, Michael, and former acting commissioner Michelle King. But so far, none of those names have made public comments.
When the committee asked Trump’s transition team to respond, Arjun Mody, a senior official, sent back a statement. “Frank Bisignano is not in the [Social Security] agency and is not involved in any decision making at the agency,” he said in an email.
Despite Arjun’s denial, senators didn’t seem convinced. Ron made it clear he’s worried about the mix of power, private tech influence, and outside groups like D.O.G.E steering decisions inside Social Security. The committee hasn’t scheduled a vote yet on Frank’s confirmation.
Frank said again that he would not allow unauthorized people to view private data. But when asked if he would stop D.O.G.E from using any agency system, he didn’t commit to a yes or no. The committee ended the session without resolution, leaving his future in limbo and the questions still hanging.
Frank is still Trump’s nominee, but whether he gets the job or not depends on how the committee moves forward. For now, the issue isn’t just about one man. It’s about how deep D.O.G.E already is inside the federal government—and who’s going to stop it.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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