US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has given Elon Musk's team access to the federal payment system to monitor and limit government spending, the New York Times writes, citing its sources.
According to them, employees of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Musk, have been given access to the system, which processes information on payments worth more than $ 5 trillion annually. DOGE already requires access to data from other agencies, but control over the Treasury Department's payments is a key tool. The system stores the personal data of millions of citizens, which increases the risk of a conflict of interest: Musk’s private companies compete with recipients of public funds.
Bessent, who was recently confirmed to the post by the US Senate, has allowed access to DOGE employees, the newspaper reports. Musk criticized his appointment and lobbied for the candidacy of Howard Lutnick.
Meanwhile, Musk’s department has found that the US Treasury Department has approved payments to fraudulent organizations and terrorist groups. Musk himself wrote this in X.
„The DOGE team found, among other things, that employees at the US Treasury Department responsible for approving payments were instructed to always do so, even if they were to known fraudulent and terrorist groups“, the director of the department writes. „They literally never refused a payment. Not once,“ he added.