Elon Musk’s growing influence has now reached the federal payment system as Treasury secretary Scott Bessent reportedly gave its access to the representatives of the Department of Government Efficiency. While this has kicked up a storm in the administration, the move is to facilitate DOGE’s monitoring of government spending so that it can limit it. The payment system sends out money on behalf of the government and Elon Musk won access to it after a week-long stand-off with a top Treasury official who did not want it to happen, the New York Times reported.
David Lebryk, the official, was put on leave and abruptly retired Friday, the report said. In his email announcing his retirement, Lebryk praised the department’s staff. “Please know that your work makes a difference and is so very important to the country. It has been an honor to work alongside you,” he wrote. “Our work may be unknown to most of the public, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exceptionally important.”
Elon Musk Saturday suggested that this access was to root out fraud or illicit payments. “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,” Musk wrote. “They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.” However, Elon Musk did not offer any evidence to back his claim.
The issue has been going on since after the election and when DOGE was announced. DOGE officials have been asking for this access since then and then stepped up the pressure after Donald Trump’s inauguration. Tom Krause, a Silicon Valley executive, has now been detailed to the Treasury — on behalf of DOGE.
A Washington Post report said it is precisely unclear why Musk’s team sought access to these systems.
