On a Monday that caught many observers off guard, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that Frank Bisignano would take on dual leadership roles. Already serving as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Bisignano now assumes the position of CEO at the Internal Revenue Service. This marks the first time in American history that one individual has been tasked with running both agencies simultaneously.

The arrangement places Bisignano in charge of the IRS’s operational management while maintaining his oversight of Social Security. Both positions fall under Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who currently serves as acting IRS Commissioner. According to federal organizational structures, these agencies typically operate with dedicated leadership given their scope and complexity. The Social Security Administration alone serves approximately 74 million people depend on SSA through retirement, disability, and Supplemental Security Income programs, while the IRS processes hundreds of millions of tax returns annually.

Why Tax Season Makes This Timing Especially Problematic

Former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, who led the agency from 2023 to 2025, shared his concerns during a Tuesday morning appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He described the current period as “crunch time at the IRS,” pointing to the agency’s preparation needs before the filing season begins.

The leadership situation at the IRS has been notably unstable. Since January’s presidential inauguration, six different individuals have either held the Commissioner position or served in temporary capacities. President Trump’s nominee Billy Long received Senate confirmation in June but was removed from the role in August. Secretary Bessent stepped in following Long’s departure. Werfel noted that the agency currently lacks a Deputy Commissioner to handle day-to-day operations, creating a gap in the management structure during a critical preparation period.

“That’s a lot of volatility at the top of a very complex process and organization,” Werfel explained during the interview. He stressed that both Bessent and Bisignano need to remain accessible when IRS staff encounter urgent decisions requiring executive input. Without consistent availability from leadership, taxpayers seeking assistance or resolution to issues will experience delays and service disruptions.

New Tax Law Implementation Adds Complexity

The timing becomes more challenging when considering the implementation requirements for recent tax legislation. The IRS must prepare systems and train staff to handle provisions from what the administration calls its “big beautiful bill.” Some of these tax law changes apply to 2025 tax returns, which taxpayers will file during the 2026 filing season. This compressed timeline demands focused attention from agency leadership to ensure accurate processing and clear guidance for taxpayers.

Workforce Cuts Compound Service Delivery Challenges

Recent staffing reductions have created additional operational pressures at the IRS. A September report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration revealed significant workforce losses across essential functions.

According to the inspector general’s findings, between 17% and 19% of employees working in key IRS functions have left the agency. These departures affect positions directly involved in processing returns, answering taxpayer questions, and managing the upcoming filing season. When an agency faces major tax law changes and leadership transitions while simultaneously losing nearly one-fifth of your essential staff, the ability to maintain service standards becomes questionable.

Alex Muresianu, senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit research organization focused on federal and state tax policy, characterized the dual leadership arrangement as lacking the stability the IRS needs. “This arrangement doesn’t sound like stability at the IRS,” he said. “To me, this seems like yet another sort of odd, unusual interim arrangement.”

Muresianu emphasized that preparing for filing season while implementing significant tax changes requires consistent leadership focus. The Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment from CNBC regarding these concerns.

Social Security Administration Defends the Dual Leadership Plan

An SSA spokesperson offered a defense of the decision, pointing to Bisignano’s accomplishments during his initial months as Commissioner. The agency highlighted modernization efforts in technology infrastructure and process improvements as evidence of his capability to manage both roles effectively.

Before entering government service, Bisignano ran Fiserv, a fintech and payments company. The SSA spokesperson indicated that Bisignano has assembled a capable executive team during his five months since Senate confirmation. This team structure, according to the agency, allows for effective delegation while Bisignano divides his attention between the two organizations.

The Social Security Administration processes benefits for roughly 74 million Americans who receive retirement, survivors, disability, or Supplemental Security Income payments. These programs represent critical financial support for elderly Americans, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals. Advocates for beneficiaries have expressed skepticism about whether divided leadership attention can adequately serve this population’s needs.

Privacy Concerns Between Federal Agencies Could Escalate

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and expanding Social Security, raised fundamental concerns about the unprecedented leadership structure.

“The reason it’s never happened in the history of the country is because there are two separate positions for very good reasons,” Altman explained. Her concerns center on the sensitive nature of information these agencies handle and the importance of maintaining strict separation.

Data Protection Requirements at Both Agencies

The IRS and Social Security Administration maintain some of the most sensitive personal information the federal government collects. The IRS holds detailed financial records, including income sources, investment activities, and business operations. The Social Security Administration maintains medical documentation for disability determinations, work history records, and personal identifying information for benefit recipients.

Federal privacy laws and agency regulations establish clear boundaries around this information. SSA employees should not access tax return data without specific legal authorization. Similarly, IRS personnel should not view medical records or disability determinations maintained by Social Security. These firewalls protect individual privacy and prevent unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information.

Altman stressed that merging leadership of these agencies creates new challenges for maintaining these essential separations. When one person oversees both organizations, establishing and enforcing protocols to prevent inappropriate data access or inadvertent information sharing becomes more complex. The risk of privacy breaches increases not through intentional misconduct but through the practical challenges of managing two vast data systems under unified leadership.

Can One Person Actually Lead Two Massive Federal Agencies?

Beyond privacy considerations, practical questions emerge about the feasibility of one individual effectively leading two of the federal government’s largest agencies.

Altman expressed concern that dividing executive attention between the agencies could slow critical decision-making processes. When Social Security policy changes require Commissioner approval while IRS operational issues demand immediate attention, prioritization becomes necessary. That prioritization inevitably means one agency’s needs wait while the other receives focus.

Senate Confirmation Process Bypassed for IRS Role

Altman also noted a significant procedural aspect of this arrangement. The CEO position at the IRS does not require Senate confirmation for Bisignano because he already received confirmation as Social Security Commissioner. This means his additional IRS responsibilities bypass the usual vetting process that Senate confirmation provides, including public hearings and questioning by senators.

Meanwhile, Arjun Mody, a former Republican Congressional staffer, has been nominated for deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. That nomination will require Senate confirmation, subjecting Mody to the traditional vetting process that Bisignano’s IRS role avoided.

Advocacy Groups Express Strong Opposition to Arrangement

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an advocacy organization representing older Americans, issued a statement calling the administration’s decision both “unprecedented” and “unwise.”

Max Richtman, the organization’s president and CEO, pointed to recent changes at the Social Security Administration that have already affected beneficiaries. The agency has implemented workforce reductions and introduced new administrative rules this year. These include restrictions around direct deposit modifications that affect how beneficiaries access their monthly payments.

“This agency is too important to have a part-time leader,” Richtman said in the statement. “Seniors, people with disabilities, and their families deserve a full-time Social Security Commissioner.”

Impact on Beneficiary Services

The concern extends beyond administrative theory to practical service delivery. Social Security beneficiaries often need assistance with benefit calculations, appeals of denied claims, or resolution of payment issues. These matters require timely decisions from agency leadership. When that leadership must also address IRS operational challenges, response times for Social Security issues may lengthen and service quality suffers.

Similarly, taxpayers contacting the IRS during filing season need answers to questions about their returns, assistance with payment arrangements, or resolution of notices they’ve received. If the person ultimately responsible for IRS operations is simultaneously managing Social Security challenges, both groups of Americans may experience degraded service.

Critical Questions Remain Unanswered About This Experiment

The White House has not responded to media requests for comment on the dual leadership arrangement, leaving several important questions without public answers.

How will Bisignano allocate his time between the two agencies? Will he maintain offices at both locations, or will one agency receive more of his physical presence? What specific safeguards will prevent inadvertent mixing of sensitive data between the agencies? Who makes urgent decisions when Bisignano is focused on the other organization’s needs?

These operational details matter significantly for the millions of Americans who interact with both agencies. Social Security beneficiaries need confidence that their Commissioner can focus on issues affecting their benefits. Taxpayers need assurance that IRS leadership can address filing season challenges and implement new tax provisions accurately.

The Coming Months Will Provide Answers

As the tax filing season approaches and Social Security recipients continue navigating benefit questions, the effectiveness of this arrangement will become apparent through measurable outcomes. Processing times for tax returns, wait times for IRS phone assistance, Social Security disability claim processing speeds, and beneficiary service metrics will all provide data about whether divided leadership affects performance.

For the tens of millions of Americans who depend on accurate tax processing and timely Social Security benefits, these aren’t abstract administrative questions. They affect whether retirement checks arrive on time, whether disability claims receive proper review, whether tax refunds process without delays, and whether questions about either agency’s services receive knowledgeable responses.

This experiment in dual agency leadership represents uncharted territory in federal administration. Whether it proves workable or creates the service disruptions that critics fear will become clear as both agencies navigate their busiest operational periods under this new structure.