Frank Vignano, the candidate to run President Donald Trump’s Social Security Bureau, was burned by the senators at a hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
They have already kneeled in federal agencies and demanded answers about their relationship with Doge, a White House-backed “efficiency” unit facing federal restraint orders.
Frank’s name appeared in multiple internal complaints about Doge’s growing influence on social security operations, according to information from CNBC and Congressional records.
The committee hearing took place under the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Mike Krapo, with Oregon Senator Ron Wyden leading the opposition. The spotlight was in Frank’s previous movement. This reports employment, access to internal databases, and personal relationships with key players already built into Social Security.
Wyden says the candidate played a role in staffing and monitoring Doge
During the hearing, Ron said Social Security could not provide basic services since the Doge changes began. “The elderly are lost in the system,” he says, pointing to broken websites and phone lines, endlessly ringing without answering.
Ron told the room that the hearing was a shot of Frank. Frank is currently CEO of Fiserv, a financial company that moves around $2.5 trillion in payments every day. During the hearing, Frank said the Social Security Agency handles approximately 74 million payments per month.
Frank also said he had never spoken to Lee Dudek, the agency’s current representative committee member, but admitted he knew Chief Information Officer Michael Russo. He described Michael as a high-tech professional who he previously worked with. “I don’t know him as a Doge guy. I know him as a CIO,” Frank said when asked if Russo was one of the appointments linked to Doge.
Ron then read a written statement from someone who identified himself as a “very high-level official” who recently left Social Security.
The person argued that Frank was not only caught up in his daily routine prior to confirmation, but also demanded final decisions on new hires. “The whistleblower says this is a bad candidate for the agency and quotes the details,” Ron said.
Frank did not deny his involvement in some staffing decisions, but he pushed back allegations of overreach. He said he doesn’t understand what “lockout” means when he pushes to reduce access to sensitive federal systems. “I will do whatever it takes to protect the information that is personal,” he replied.
Federal judge blocks Doge from processing private SSA data
On March 20th, federal judge Ellen Lipton Hollander issued a temporary restraining order banning DOGE from accessing personally identifiable information stored by the Social Security Agency. The court also told all Doge-Linked contractors to already pick up all the data.
The list of restricted data includes Social Security numbers, employment records, mental health and medical files, tax documents, addresses, bank details, and employee payment history. The court order follows a growing number of complaints that Doge bypassed internal safeguards and failed to comply with federal privacy laws.
In a February interview with CNBC, Frank said “100%” was planning to work with Doge to identify social security fraud and waste. “I’m basically a dog,” he said at the time. On Tuesday, he made the comments clear.
The whistleblower, whose written testimony was presented by Ron, said Frank’s involvement ran deeper than he admitted. The statement allegedly asked Frank to frequently speak to senior executives, asking for explanations of key internal decisions, and asking the hiring manager not to take new staff without first checking.
They also said Frank helped select several people who currently work under the agency’s umbrella, including Michael Russo, lawyer Mark Stephenson, Scott Coulter, Dozi’s engineer Akash Bobba. According to whistleblowers, Frank had private conversations with these individuals and gave the green light to their role. The person said this level of involvement is unusual and dangerous for those who have not yet been confirmed.
The same testimony raised a red flag about Doge employees being granted extensive access to the Social Security database. “These behaviors will hurt the elderly,” the person wrote.
The whistleblower also appointed 19 people who could back up their accounts, including Lee, Michael and former deputy Michelle King. However, so far, none of these names have made public comments.
When the committee asked Trump’s transition team to respond, senior official Arjun Modi sent back a statement. “Frank Vignano is not part of the (Social Security) agency and is not involved in decision-making at the agency,” he said in an email.
Despite Arjun’s denial, the senators seem unconvinced. Ron revealed he is concerned about the mixing of external groups like the power, the impact of private technology, and the decision to do so within Social Security. The committee has not yet scheduled a vote on Frank’s confirmation.
Frank again said he would not allow fraudulent people to view personal data. However, when he was asked if Doge would stop using any institutional systems, he did not commit to YES or NO. The committee ended the session without resolution, leaving his future to Limbo, with questions still hanging.
Frank is still a Trump candidate, but whether he gets the job depends on how the committee moves forward. For now, this problem isn’t just one man. That’s how many Deep Doge is already within the federal government, and who will stop it.
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