Bisignano will continue to serve as commissioner of the SSA. In his role as CEO of the IRS, Bisignano will report to Bessent, who is also acting commissioner of the IRS, the Treasury Department said in a Monday (Oct. 6) press release.
At the IRS, Bisignano will manage the organization and oversee its day-to-day operations, according to the release.
Bessent said in the release that the IRS and the SSA have several goals in common when it comes to technology and customer service, and he highlighted Bisignano’s experience in “driving growth and efficiency in the private and now public sector.”
“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.
By appointing Bisignano, the President Donald Trump administration can install an appointee at the IRS without having to wait for Senate confirmation, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
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The IRS is facing the challenges of implementing the new tax law signed by Trump on July 4, which includes several new, expanded or extended deductions, and managing the agency during the government shutdown, according to the report.
At the SSA, Bisignano has reduced wait times on the agency’s customer service line and added artificial intelligence to its phone system, per the report.
The previous head of the IRS, Billy Long, was removed from that position by Trump in August and nominated to be the ambassador to Iceland, CNBC reported Monday.
Bessent took over the agency at that time. Bessent and Bisignano are each expected to hold their two roles in the administration “indefinitely,” the CNBC report said.
Before joining SSA, Bisignano served as chairman and CEO of Fiserv, according to the Treasury Department press release. He led the 2019 merger of Fiserv and First Data while serving as CEO of First Data.
When Trump announced in December that he picked Bisignano to oversee the SSA, he said on his Truth Social platform: “Frank is a business leader, with a tremendous track record of transforming large corporations. He will be responsible to deliver on the agency’s commitment to the American people for generations to come!”
It was reported in June that Bisignano said he was working to make the SSA a “digital-first organization.” He said that by using more technology and AI to power the SSA’s customer service, the agency would enable people to do simple tasks without human interaction, thereby freeing up agency resources for other activities.
