Frank Bisignano, President Donald Trump's new Commissioner of Social Security, was criticized after an audio recording revealed he'd admitted to staff he had to Google what his role would be.
Bisignano told Social Security managers during a national town hall on Wednesday that he hadn’t been pursuing a role in the Trump administration when he was approached about leading the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Though Bisignano—former chairman and CEO of financial technology firm Fiserv Inc.—brings a background in managing large organizations and complex payment systems, he has no prior experience in government or with SSA.
He said:
"So, I get a phone call and it's about Social Security. And I'm really, I'm really not, I swear I'm not looking for a job. And I'm like, 'Well, what am I going to do?' So, I'm Googling Social Security. You know, one of my great skills, I'm one of the great Googlers on the East Coast."
"I'm like, 'What the heck's the commissioner of Social Security?' Put that as the headline for the Post: 'Great Googler in Chief. Chief in Googler' or whatever."
You can hear what he said below.
The audio angered Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who commented:
"Millions of Americans depend on Social Security. They should be able to trust that the head of the agency even knows what the job is."
You can see her post below.
Others also criticized Bisignano after the audio went viral.
Bisignano aimed to reassure SSA managers amid ongoing leadership changes and growing scrutiny from billionaire Elon Musk’s advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), emphasizing that Social Security is “not going away,” and saying that Trump shares that position:
"This is America's, you know, safety net -- it's not going away. And hopefully you hear me say this every day. You know who wants me to tell people that? Guess. The president."
Bisignano urged managers to trust that DOGE is working to “make things better,” even if that hasn’t been their experience so far. He noted that DOGE will play a role in overhauling the Social Security website and introducing artificial intelligence into the agency’s phone support systems.
DOGE has already driven out many agency employees—including senior leaders and tech specialists with deep knowledge of the SSA's outdated software and databases.
Earlier this year, the agency announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs—about 12% of its workforce. According to a recent press release, 3,000 employees have already left voluntarily, with DOGE being cited as a major factor. Another 2,000 have been relocated from headquarters or regional centers to local field offices.
Whether further cuts are on the horizon remains uncertain. Now that Bisignano has been confirmed, an agency official said he is “evaluating staffing levels.”
