WASHINGTON — One day after finance executive Frank Bisignano testified before the Senate to be confirmed as head of the Social Security Administration, Senate Democrats called on President Donald Trump to withdraw him from consideration. They say Bisignano lied to the Senate Finance Committee about his involvement with the U.S. DOGE Service since being nominated in December.

What You Need To Know

  • Senate Democrats called on President Donald Trump Tuesday to withdraw Frank Bisignano's nomination to head the Social Security Administration

  • Bisignano testified before the Senate Tuesday for his confirmation hearing

  • "To confirm him as head of Social Security is hiring an arsonist to run the fire station," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a press conference Wednesday

  • 73 million Americans receive Social Security benefits

“He hand-picked DOGE agents and pressured Social Security employees to cut corners to get them on the job faster,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday. “He told Social Security staff not to hire anybody without his explicit approval” and was aware of plans to shutter regional offices, to reduce the agency’s work force and to access Americans’ personal data.

As the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance committee, Wyden said the Bisignano vote must not proceed and called for a bipartisan investigation into the nominee’s actions.

“To confirm him as head of Social Security is hiring an arsonist to run the fire station,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday. “He’s a cutter. Companies bring him in to slash workers. His claim to fame is cutting and shrinking. He’s the last person we need to run the Social Security office.”

About 73 million Americans rely on Social Security benefits, including retired workers who receive payments as partial replacements for their income, as well as people with disabilities.

Bisignano is chief executive of the financial services technology firm Fiserv. In February, he told CNBC that he is “fundamentally a DOGE person” but did not plan to touch Social Security benefits if confirmed as the agency's commissioner.

Last week, the Social Security Administration said millions of recipients and applicants who cannot verify their identities online will need to visit agency field offices in person starting March 31. That follows reports from February that the agency plans to cut at least 7,000 workers from its staff of about 57,000 and close many of its offices.

Schumer said Wednesday the SSA plans to shutter as many as 60% of its field locations.

“What is the intent?” Schumer asked. “Kill Social Security by strangling it, by not letting it work, by making it so that it’s impossible for people to get their help and their benefits.”

The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Senate Democrats’ call to withdraw Bisignano from consideration. Appointed by Trump, the agency’s current acting commissioner is Leland Dudek, who suggested last week that the agency should be shut down if DOGE wasn’t allowed to access its data.

On Friday, Dudek walked back the comment after receiving “clarifying guidance” about a federal judge’s temporary restraining order that blocked SSA from granting DOGE personnel access to systems that contain personally identifying information.