Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday tapped Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano to take on a second role as CEO of the IRS, a newly created position at the tax agency.
The Treasury Department said in a statement that Bisignano will be responsible for overseeing all daily operations operations at the IRS, while also continuing to serve in his role heading the federal agency that administers Social Security.
Bessent said in the statement that the IRS and SSA “share many of the same technological and customer service goals. This makes Mr. Bisignano a natural choice for this role.”
The appointment comes after several recent leadership changes at the IRS, with its most recent commissioner, former auctioneer and congressman Billy Long, stepping down in August after only two months on the job. Unlike previous IRS leaders, Long lacked a background in either accounting or tax law.
Bisignano is a former Wall Street executive and CEO of Fiserv, a payments and financial services firm. In his role as IRS CEO, he’ll report to Bessent, who will continue to serve as acting commissioner of the IRS, according to the Treasury Department.
Bisignano’s appointment to a second high-profile federal job raises concerns about his ability to oversee two major government agencies, according to Social Security advocates, who say that the SSA now faces multiple challenges as a result of the Trump administration cutting thousands of jobs at the agency earlier this year.
“Never in Social Security’s 90-year history has a commissioner held a second job,” said Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, in an email. “Bisignano’s new role will leave a leadership vacuum at the top of the agency, especially since the Republican Senate hasn’t even confirmed a deputy commissioner.”
Added Max Richtman, CEO of another advocacy group, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: “Seniors, people with disabilities and their families deserve a full-time Social Security Commissioner. Full stop.”
The Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the groups’ concerns.
In the statement, Bessent said that Bisignano “has already made important and substantial progress [at the SSA], and we are pleased that he will bring this expertise to the IRS as we sharpen our focus on collections, privacy, and customer service in order to deliver better outcomes for hardworking Americans.”
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