Elon Musk’s Takeover of The U.S. Treasury Department

Tesla CEO and newly appointed head of The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, has gained access to the Treasury Department’s payment system. The system is basically the multi-trillion dollar checkbook for the entire federal government. The data includes social security, federal salaries and Medicare customer payment systems amongst others. Consumers and advocates are concerned that such sensitive information can be accessed by Musk.

Concerns

The news came after Treasury’s acting Deputy Secretary David Lebryk resigned from his position at Treasury after more than 30 years of service. On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Lebryk resigned from his position after Musk and his DOGE organization requested access to sensitive Treasury data.

“The Fiscal Service performs some of the most vital functions in government,” Lebryk said in a letter to Treasury employees sent out Friday. “Our work may be unknown to most of the public, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exceptionally important. I am grateful for having been able to work alongside some of the nation’s best and most talented operations staff.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) sent a letter

on February 2 to acting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating, “Controlling the system could allow the Trump Administration to ‘unilaterally’ — and illegally — cut off payments for millions of Americans, putting at risk the financial security of families and businesses based on political favoritism or the whims of Mr. Musk and those on his team who have worked their way inside. It could also give them access to millions of Americans’ personal and financial information that is protected by law.”

In another letter to Bessent, Senator Ron Wyden (D), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said that any “politically-motivated meddling” in the payment systems “risks severe damage to our country and the economy.”

“To put it bluntly, these payment systems simply cannot fail, and any politically-motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country and the economy. I am deeply concerned that following the federal grant and loan freeze earlier this week, these officials associated with Musk may have intended to access these payment systems to illegally withhold payments to any number of programs,” Wyden wrote.

“I can think of no good reason why political operators who have demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law would need access to these sensitive, mission critical systems,” Wyden wrote.

On Monday, a lawsuit was filed by two unions and the Alliance for Retired Americans naming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Treasury as defendants. The lawsuit alleges “unlawful ongoing, systematic, continuous disclosure of personal and financial information” to Musk and DOGE.