Democrat lawmakers have demanded an explanation from the Trump administration as to why tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly seeking access to sensitive payment systems in the Treasury Department.
Newsweek reached out by email to the White House and the Treasury on Saturday afternoon for comment.
Why It Matters
Musk and DOGE have aggressively pursued every avenue available in an effort to cut what they view as immensely wasteful federal spending. The most ambitious effort involved the attempt to freeze all federal spending on grants, totaling several trillion dollars.
President Donald Trump initially ordered the U.S. Office of Management and Budget to freeze federal grants and loans on Monday, but by Wednesday had rescinded the order following immense confusion and backlash.
What To Know
Confusion erupted at the Treasury Department on Friday as career staffer David A. Lebryk announced his retirement.
The reason for his exit was not announced, but reports from The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Hill, citing anonymous sources, claimed that it was due to an ongoing clash between Lebryk and DOGE personnel who wanted to gain access to “sensitive payment systems” at the Treasury.
Musk, following Lebryk’s resignation, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the DOGE team “discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups. They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.” Musk has yet to provide evidence for those claims.
While the Treasury has not commented on Lebryk’s resignation, some lawmakers have publicly demanded answers from the department – namely, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden of Oregon, a Democrat, who issued a letter newly-confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
In the letter, dated January 31, Wyden directly addressed the reports of Musk and DOGE personnel attempting to “gain access to systems that control payments to millions of American citizens, including Social Security, Medicare and tax refunds.”
“A confrontation over access apparently resulted in the abrupt resignation of David Lebryk, a career non-partisan Treasury official who recently had been named acting Secretary of the Treasury by President Trump,” Wyden wrote. “These reports are particularly concerning given incidents earlier this week in which Medicaid portals in all 50 states were shut down along with other crucial payment programs, following the Trump Administration illegally issuing an order to freeze all grant and loan payments.”
Wyden stressed that he was “deeply concerned” about “the possibility that Elon Musk and a cadre of unknown DOGE personnel are seeking to gain access” to those systems. Wyden demanded answers to a number of queries related to the report, namely whether Musk and DOGE have gained access to the system, what authority the department granted that access, and which systems would be impacted.
What People Are Saying
Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, also a Democrat, on Friday wrote on X: “Elon Musk, the richest man on Earth, is rooting around in Social Security and Medicare payment systems. He’s reaching his hands into our pockets and firing anyone who tries to stop him. This reeks of corruption — it must stop.“
Jeffrey Tucker, president of the non-profit think tank Brownstone Institute, wrote on X: “Wow wow! Geeks with passwords controlled $5T in disbursements and would not cough up access for the new administration. This is the means by which the deep state has maintained control for decade after decade, with changing administrations as veneer.”
Daniel Tannebaum, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, wrote on X: “Absolutely nothing good comes from having uninformed and likely uncleared people fiddling with the payment rails for the entire government. Saying this as someone who worked in the space, not all sensitive agencies telegraph the purpose of payment…”
What Happens Next
The White House and Treasury have yet to comment on the reports of Musk and DOGE attempting to access the payment systems, but more lawmakers may demand such information in the coming days – especially if the possibility of another fund freeze appears likely.
The post Lawmaker Demands Answers To Reports Musk Seeking Treasury Payment Access appeared first on Newsweek.
