Warren, Wyden, Schumer, Gillibrand Welcome Frank Bisignano to Social Security Administration With Nearly 200 Unanswered Questions, Push for Answers on Behalf of Americans
Lawmakers send Bisignano 17 letters previously sent to Acting Commissioner Dudek
“We are extraordinarily concerned about the future of the SSA under the Trump Administration, and Americans deserve information about the fate of their benefits under your watch.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) welcomed newly-confirmed Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Frank Bisignano to the agency with copies of 17 letters — containing nearly 200 unanswered questions — the lawmakers had previously sent to the SSA under Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek. The push is the latest in the Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room efforts to fight back against Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s attack on Social Security.
“We are extraordinarily concerned about the future of the SSA under the Trump Administration, and Americans deserve information about the fate of their benefits under your watch,” wrote the lawmakers.
Since President Trump took office, co-president Elon Musk and his DOGE team have worked to dismantle the Social Security Administration. Senate Democrats sent 17 letters to the SSA — helmed by then-Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek — pressing for answers and fighting back against the attack on Americans’ services and benefits.
Following Senate Republicans’ vote to confirm Frank Bisignano last night, the lawmakers redelivered the 17 letters sent to Dudek, along with a note pressing Bisignano to respond to the letters and answer for DOGE’s attacks on the SSA.
“We have not received responses to the vast majority of our questions. In fact, Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek has reportedly instructed staff to not respond to public or congressional inquiries. The limited answers we have received have been unsatisfactory,” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers also highlighted their past requests for information from Bisignano — most of which went unanswered.
“You repeatedly claimed that, because you were not yet working at SSA, you did not have sufficient information to answer. You made these claims despite the fact that a former SSA employee whistleblower has reported that you have been participating extensively in high-level operational, management, and personnel decisions at SSA. Regardless of your previous claims, though, you have now been sworn in and have access to the information you claimed you need to provide us answers,” wrote the lawmakers.
Following Bisignano’s official swearing-in as SSA Commissioner earlier today, the lawmakers pressed him for urgent answers on behalf of the American people.
Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room is a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.
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