Social Security Chief Named CEO of IRS in Latest Exec Shift (2)

The day-to-day operations at the IRS will now be run by Frank Bisignano, commissioner of the Social Security Administration, in a newly created position.

Bisignano will be CEO and report directly to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—who also is acting IRS commissioner—while he continues in his role at the Social Security Administration, according to a release Monday. Critics called the move an end run around Senate confirmation.

Bisignano enters the IRS in the midst of government shutdown, as it implements the GOP’s multitrillion tax law, and as it prepares for filing season. The IRS, which has been rattled by steep workforce cuts, is also bracing to furlough nearly half of its workforce if government shutdown persists longer than a week.

Democrats Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) Monday slammed the decision, and raised questions about privacy of taxpayer data, which has been called into question at both agencies.

“President Trump is inventing positions out of thin air to bypass Congress and hand more power to his loyalists,” Neal said in a statement. “Putting Commissioner Bisignano in charge of the IRS while he simultaneously oversees a chaotic and destructive operation at Social Security makes it clear that in Trump’s Washington, loyalty is rewarded, and competence is irrelevant.”

It’s the latest in a leadership shakeup at the IRS this year, with seven people serving as the IRS commissioner or acting commissioner. Bessent took over for President Donald Trump’s confirmed Commissioner Billy Long, who was tapped to serve as the ambassador to Iceland.

When asked if Trump plans to submit a new IRS commissioner to the Senate for confirmation, a White House spokesperson touted Bisignano’s credentials to run the tax collection agency.

The majority of the positions in the top organizational chart at the agency are either vacant or held by someone in an acting position. The agency has also shrunk from over 100,000 to about 76,000 after the Trump administration offered incentives for workers to leave the government.

Bisignano was confirmed in May to lead SSA. Prior to leading the agency, he was chair and CEO of Fiserv, a financial services and payment technology company.

“Under his leadership at the SSA, he has already made important and substantial progress, 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,” Bessent said in the release.