Social Security Administration commissioner nominee says he's 'never thought' about privatizing the agency
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- President Trump's pick to lead the SSA said he's "never thought" about privatizing the agency.
- Nominee Frank Bisignano during his Senate hearing on Tuesday focused on the agency's objectives.
- "My job as a commissioner is to ensure that every beneficiary receives their payments on time," he said.
Frank Bisignano, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, said during his Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday that he's "never thought" about privatizing the agency.
Democratic lawmakers during the hearing questioned Bisignano about what they said are haphazard cost-cutting efforts by the White House DOGE office, with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island suggesting that Musk could be trying to create bad enough conditions at the agency to prompt a push for privatization.
Bisignano responded by focusing on the agency's objectives.
"My job as a commissioner is to ensure that every beneficiary receives their payments on time, that disability claims are processed in the manner they should be," he said.
"I've never thought about privatizing. It's not a word that anybody's ever talked to me about," the Wall Street veteran continued. "I don't see this institution as anything other than a government agency that gets run for the benefit of the American public."
On Monday, Business Insider reported the agency is telling its workers that its customer service is about to get much worse.
Some Republicans have long floated the possibility of privatizing social security, but proposing major changes — including potential cuts — to the entitlement program has generally been an extraordinarily unpopular position in US politics.
In January, roughly 73 million Americans received Social Security or Supplemental Security Income payments.
Social Security pays out roughly $1.4 trillion in benefits annually.
In recent weeks, the agency has been targeted for staffing cuts by DOGE, prompting complaints from an array of lawmakers of Capitol Hill, who fear it could disrupt payments and make it more difficult for seniors to access their benefits.