IRS Appoints New CEO Amidst Administrative Restructuring
In a major administrative shake-up, Frank Bisignano, the current Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This newly established position underlines the ongoing changes within federal agencies during the Trump administration.
As the CEO of the IRS, Bisignano will report directly to Scott Bessent, the Acting Commissioner of the IRS and Secretary of the Treasury. The Treasury Department has yet to clarify if this role will require Senate confirmation, adding a layer of uncertainty to the appointment.
The Treasury Department’s announcement emphasizes that Bisignano will manage the daily operations of the IRS while maintaining his responsibilities as SSA Commissioner. This dual role reflects a broader trend within the administration, where officials are tasked with overseeing multiple agencies.
“The IRS and SSA share many of the same technological and customer service goals. This makes Mr. Bisignano a natural choice for this role,” stated Bessent, highlighting the synergy between the two agencies.
The decision to place Bisignano at the helm of the IRS is part of a series of leadership adjustments following President Trump’s tenure. Bessent assumed the acting commissioner role after the previous commissioner, former U.S. Representative Billy Long, was removed shortly after his confirmation and reassigned as ambassador to Iceland.
Leadership at the IRS has been tumultuous, with four acting commissioners preceding Long. One resigned over a controversial data-sharing agreement between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security, and another’s appointment sparked a public dispute involving former Trump adviser Elon Musk and Bessent.
Bisignano’s dual appointment is not an isolated case within the administration. He joins other officials, including Bessent, Marco Rubio, Sean Duffy, Jamieson Greer, and Russell Vought, who hold multiple roles simultaneously.
However, this move has raised concerns among advocates. Kathleen Romig, Director of Social Security and Disability Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, voiced apprehension over the potential bypassing of Congressional approval. “If the Trump Admin asked for the Senate’s advice & consent, would they really want the same person running the government’s biggest program AND overseeing the implementation of the extraordinarily complex new tax law?” she expressed on the Bluesky social media app. source
Echoing these concerns, Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, criticized the dual role. She stated, “Bisignano’s divided attention will create a bottleneck that makes the inevitable problems that arise even harder to correct. Never in Social Security’s 90-year history has a commissioner held a second job. 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.”
Frank Bisignano, who has been the chair of Fiserv, a financial services technology firm since 2020, is recognized for his advocacy for corporate policies that protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination.
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