The Senate Finance Committee was set to vote March 2 on the confirmation of Andrew Eanes to become the new boss at the Social Security Administration replacing Carolyn Colvin, who has served as acting commissioner.
It is important to note that Eanes was not nominated as the new commissioner of Social Security, but the deputy commissioner and would assume the role of acting commissioner upon confirmation. This is all very confusing to some, but we will try to explain.
Colvin herself was never appointed as Social Security’s commissioner, she was appointed as the deputy commissioner just like Eanes. Colvin served under Commissioner Michael Astrue who resigned a couple of years ago. After the resignation Colvin became acting commissioner. She was allowed to stay in that role until either a new commissioner or deputy commissioner was appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Colvin was actually appointed as the new commissioner by President Barack Obama, but the Senate never acted on this nomination and Obama did not re-nominate her after the 2014 congressional election. This was probably not an indication that Obama was not interested in having Colvin be the next commissioner, more so that Colvin probably was interested in retiring from public service as she has previously indicated.
We have previously posted a blog about the nomination of Eanes. We have mentioned that he does not have a background in Social Security so it will be interesting to see how Eanes leads as the new boss at Social Security. According to biographical information provided by the White House, Eanes has previously served as an executive for technology companies.
Upon his appointment Eanes said “We’ll help ensure the long-term viability of Social Security and improve customer service.”
For more background on the Eanes appointment click here.
