Frank Bisignano, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration (SSA), faced questions about the agency’s future during his two-and-a-half-hour confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee. If confirmed, Bisignano would lead the agency responsible for paying $1.6 trillion a year to 72.5 million beneficiaries, including retirees, the disabled and children who are survivors of covered workers.
Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) addressed the elephant in the room at the outset, saying, “The urgency for today’s hearing couldn’t be greater.” Wyden cited a number of controversies facing the agency, which he says are causing confusion and creating chaos. That chaos has worried seniors and other beneficiaries across the country, who have concerns that their benefits could be delayed or cut.
One reason for those worries? Comments and changes that kicked in after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, entered the picture.
DOGE At The Social Security Administration
DOGE first appeared at SSA headquarters on January 31. Eventually, DOGE was granted access to personally identifiable information (PII), including addresses, medical and work histories, tax records, banking details, and benefit amounts for all individuals in the U.S. with a Social Security number. Former Social Security Commissioner Michelle King objected to the data transfer and resigned in protest. King was replaced by Leland Dudek, who allowed DOGE access to the data.
After DOGE reviewed some data, Musk posted a table on X (formerly Twitter) suggesting tens of millions of people over the age of 100, including some over 150, were improperly receiving Social Security benefits. Musk later doubled down on his review, posting, “Yes, there are FAR more “eligible” social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA. This might be the biggest fraud in history.”
The evidence indicates that only 0.1% of Social Security benefits are disbursed to individuals over 100 years old—that amounts to fewer than 74,000 beneficiaries. (An estimated 101,000 Americans were 100 or older in 2024.) Musk’s figures were sourced from SSA’s Numident database, which contains records of every Social Security number application since the program’s inception. A 2023 OIG report states that “almost none” of the individuals born before 1920 in this dataset are receiving benefits, and the agency chose not to update the database due to the costs of doing so. This aligns with a 2015 report that discovered the database included approximately 6.5 million individuals with an SSN who were born before June 16, 1901, but did not have a date of death recorded—that does not imply that these beneficiaries were receiving benefits. Additionally, in 2015, the SSA implemented a new policy that automatically halts payments to individuals older than 115 years.
(Part of the confusion can be traced to Social Security’s software system, which defaults incomplete or missing birthdates to a reference point from over 150 years ago.)
Following public outcry, Dudek confirmed on the SSA website that the agency has a process to identify potentially fraudulent payments. For example, when the agency sees individuals aged 90 or older currently receiving payments and living in the United States, it attempts to conduct interviews to verify that they are still alive. If the agency identifies someone as deceased, it immediately halts payment and reports any suspicions of fraud to SSA’s Office of the Inspector General.
Threats To Shut Down SSA
Despite the errors, Dudek continued to allow DOGE access to SSA data, prompting a group of unions and an advocacy organization to file suit to stop them. U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander subsequently issued an opinion, finding, among other things, that DOGE was engaged in a “fishing expedition.” In DOGE’s efforts to find fraud, Judge Hollander said, “Its method of doing so is tantamount to hitting a fly with a sledgehammer.” With that, she issued a temporary restraining order, blocking DOGE from further access to any SSA systems that contain personally identifiable information or PII.
In response, Dudek initially threatened to shut the agency down, causing beneficiaries to panic. He later walked his statement back, writing on the SSA website that, after clarification, “I am not shutting down the agency. President Trump supports keeping Social Security offices open and getting the right check to the right person at the right time. SSA employees and their work will continue under the TRO.”
The Maine Fiasco
Anger also bubbled over after a decision by the SSA to require parents of newborns in Maine to apply in person for a Social Security number in an office rather than at the hospital. Dudek later admitted that the decision was based on pettiness, not efficiency. “I was ticked at the governor of Maine for not being real cordial to the president,” Dudek said, adding, “I screwed up.” (Trump was angry at Maine Governor Janet Mills for challenging his executive order banning trans athletes in women’s and girls’ sports.)
The screw-up happened in early March when Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services sent an email notifying hospitals that “effective immediately, the option for parents to participate in the enumeration at birth process will be suspended.” The state agency advised that it was following guidance given to it by the Social Security Administration.
Before the announcement, parents applied for a Social Security number for their baby at the hospital—a policy that has been in place for decades. The agency’s own documentation notes, “The easiest way to get a Social Security number (SSN) for your newborn is to apply when you provide information for your baby’s birth certificate in the hospital.” The agency adds, “If you wait to apply for a number at a Social Security office, there may be delays while we verify your child’s birth certificate.”
After public outcry—and concern that the policy might be extended to other states—SSA retreated, reinstating the previous policy.
(For his part, Dudek expects to be let go once a Commissioner has been confirmed, saying, “I can’t imagine the nominee would want to keep me after the way I’ve been doing things here.”)
Agency Chaos
The chaos is causing beneficiaries to worry. The agency’s website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded. Beneficiaries who call the agency can expect long wait times—some attrition has already occurred, with staffers taking advantage of DOGE’s “Fork in the Road” offer to leave their jobs. Some probationary employees have been let go. As a result, staffing at the agency is at a 50-year low despite a heavier workload. And those numbers are about to drop even more: SSA recently set a staffing target of 50,000, down from approximately 57,000 employees before the start of the current Trump Administration.
Those wait times are likely to get worse. Beginning in April, Social Security beneficiaries won’t be able to conduct some business, like signing up for benefits or changing their bank account information, over the phone. Instead, they’re being pushed to do these tasks on the SSA website—a change that some seniors and disabled persons could find challenging.
According to the SSA, beneficiaries must provide in-person identification for certain internet, phone, and paper claims, including claims filed by third parties. In-person identity verification will be required if you cannot use the online account. And those receiving payment by paper checks must prove their identity before changing their mailing address.
Even worse? Beneficiaries can’t rely on family members or other third parties to help them out. The SSA makes clear that “No one can create or use an account on your behalf, even with your written or verbal permission… Unauthorized use of this service is a misrepresentation of your identity to the federal government and could subject you to criminal or civil penalties, or both.” (emphasis added)
The constant—and quick—changes have caused beneficiaries to worry that they might miss a check—something the agency has previously prided itself on not happening.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick laughed off the concerns, suggesting that seniors wouldn’t complain. “Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their checks this month,” Lutnick said. “My mother-in-law, who’s 94, she wouldn’t call and complain. She just wouldn’t. She’d think something got messed up, and she’ll get it next month.” Someone who would complain, according to Lutnick? “A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling, and complaining.”
The Future Of Social Security
With so many missteps, it’s no wonder that the Bisignano hearing felt like something more—it felt like the future of the agency was up for discussion. And Congress knows what’s at stake: Social Security programs remain a priority for Americans, according to a 2024 survey, and that support holds firm across party affiliation, with 90% of Democrats and 86% of Republicans agreeing.
Earlier this month, Trump claimed, “I’m not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.” Still, worries abound that the end game is the privatization of Social Security. When asked during the hearing whether Social Security should be privatized, Bisignano responded: “I’ve never heard a word of it, and I’ve never thought about it.”
Senators Had Questions
During the hearing, Wyden pressed Bisignano about DOGE access to the agency. Bisignano indicated he would agree to protect personally identifiable information, saying he thinks “it’s of the utmost importance for PII to be protected.” He would not commit, however, to Wyden’s request to “lock out” DOGE, suggesting that he didn’t understand the question. Bisignano has previously said he was “fundamentally a DOGE person.”
A key DOGE idea has been to reduce staffing. However, when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asked whether it was wise to lay off large numbers of workers when the agency was understaffed, Bisignano answered, “I think the answer is probably no.”
Phone service was also raised during the hearing, with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) asking about beneficiaries who could not physically come to SSA offices. Bisignano responded that he sees “the phone as a mandatory way for people to communicate.” He added: “I think it’s a part of meeting beneficiaries where they want to get met.”
However, when asked if he believed Elon Musk’s characterization of Social Security as the “biggest PONZI scheme of all time,” Bisignano appeared to hedge, saying only that it was “a promise to pay.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) punched back at the suggestion that benefits were at risk, saying, “I was in the White House two weeks ago, and [Trump] made it very clear that benefit cuts are off the table, period, full stop.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who referred to the President as “a profligate liar,” didn’t seem convinced. When he asked Bisignano what he’d do to ensure DOGE didn’t damage Social Security databases, the nominee promised “a total review.”
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