Folks, they’re not sending their best. Since Donald Trump returned to power, he’s been happily handing out lucrative government jobs to his pals, with little or no regard to whether they know how to do the job or, frankly, their general sanity. The most obvious example was appointing worm-brained, sewage-swimming, conspiracy theorist RFK Jr as Secretary of Health, but wait – a new challenger has appeared!
In Dec. 2024, Trump nominated longtime MAGA supporter Frank Bisgnano as Social Security Commissioner. On Jan. 28, he changed his mind and withdrew the nomination, before reversing course yet again, throwing up his hands and being all “whatever”. The nomination was restored, and Bisgnano was sworn in on May 7.
Social Security Commissioner is no small job. Bisgnano is now responsible for the administration of all United States Social Security programs, which are responsible for paying $1.5 trillion in benefits to around 72 million people. Lives rest in this guy’s hands. Fortunately, we can at least assume Trump picked someone fully knowledgeable about the system who knows exactly what he’s doing.
Oh, he picked some random MAGA bozo? Oh well, at least it’s a MAGA guy who knows about social security? What’s that? He has no idea at all? Ah. Well, that’s not good. Yup, in an unscripted speech, Bisgnano admitted to Social Security managers that he is absolutely clueless:
I don’t think the commissioner of Social Security is like a globally known title. It is to you, right? But, like, it wasn’t to me. I’m like, ‘Well, what am I gonna do?’ So I’m Googling ‘Social Security.’ That’s one of my great skills, I’m one of the great Googlers on the East Coast…. I’m like, ‘What the heck’s the commissioner of Social Security?'”
Scoop: In a 90-minute, unscripted speech, SSA's new commissioner Frank Bisignano told managers he Googled what SSA and its commissioner do, after being tapped by the administration to run the agency pic.twitter.com/MDThok1Kzf
— Jory Heckman (@jheckmanWFED) May 22, 2025
Who’s to say there’ll even be Social Security soon anyway?
Despite Trump’s longtime insistence he’ll never, ever, cut Social Security, he’s now planning to cut Social Security (shock). So, perhaps by appointing some buffoon to the role it’s a calculated masterstroke that’ll let the administration dismantle the system without much trouble. Or, alternatively, this guy donated a bunch of money to his election campaign and expects a lucrative do-nothing job for his trouble.
Either way, if you’re reliant on Social Security for whatever reason, you can now lie in bed at night knowing your life is in the hands of a man appointed to a job he doesn’t understand in the slightest.
