Bisignano's Dual Role Weakens Both Social Security and Tax Enforcement

Frank Bisignano was confirmed by the Senate as Social Security Commissioner on May 6, 2025, in a 53–47 vote (ASPPA, May 8, 2025). He now holds a second, unconfirmed role as CEO of the IRS, a dual appointment that concentrates executive power and sidesteps the constitutional check of advice and consent. Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren, joined by Bernie Sanders and others, have criticized this arrangement (Warren report, January 2026). The move places a former fintech executive—not a career tax administrator—at the helm of two agencies serving tens of millions of Americans, compromising both Social Security's independence and fair tax enforcement.

This governance failure compounds a prior fiscal blow: the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 rescinded $1.4 billion in IRS enforcement funding (confirmed by IRS Publication 5803 and a Crowell & Moring client alert). That rescission directly reduces the agency's capacity to audit wealthy tax evaders and corporations, protecting tax cheats while ordinary workers—whose wages are garnished via payroll withholding—face no such scrutiny. The result is a regressive shift in tax burden: wealthier households evade detection, and the tax gap widens, while public services funded by tax revenue remain under-resourced. The alternative is straightforward: Congress should require that any IRS leadership role with CEO-level authority be subject to Senate confirmation, restoring the check the Founders intended. Simultaneously, lawmakers must reverse the $1.4 billion rescission by passing new appropriations for IRS enforcement, targeting funds specifically to audit high-income taxpayers and large corporations. Combined, these steps would restore accountability and narrow the tax gap—ensuring the system works for everyone, not just those who can afford lawyers.