Senator Ron Wyden is sounding the alarm over Elon Musk’s Depart of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being granted full access to the U.S. Treasury systems.
In a post on Bluesky, Senator Wyden said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly granted DOGE full access to the U.S. Treasury systems.
NEW: Sources tell my office that Treasury Secretary Bessent has granted DOGE full access to this system. Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk’s own companies. All of it.
In a letter to the Secretary Bessent, Wyden demands answers, especially in the context of concerns about various payments being shut down in recend days.
I write regarding disturbing reports that officials associated with Elon Musk and the socalled U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) attempted to gain access to systems that control payments to millions of American citizens, including Social Security, Medicare and tax refunds.1 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. 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.
Senator Wyden also points out the inherent conflict in DOGE personnel having access to sensitive financial and payout information for companies that include those competing against Musk’s own companies.
As you are aware, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion in annual payments to households, businesses and other entities nationwide. These payment systems process more than a billion payments annually and are responsible for the distribution of Social Security and Medicare benefits, tax refunds, payments to federal employees and contractors, including competitors of Musk-owned companies, and thousands of other functions.
The letter goes on to emphasize the fiscal challenges the U.S. government faces, as well as the importance of it continuing to pay its bills, including to servicemen and women.
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. 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 … The federal government is in a financially precarious position, currently utilizing accounting maneuvers to continue paying its bills since it reached the debt limit at the beginning of the year. I am concerned that mismanagement of these payment systems could threaten the full faith and credit of the United States.”
Whether intentional or unintentional, failure of these payment systems could stop Social Security checks from being sent to retirees who need to pay bills and buy food and drugs. It could stop paychecks from being sent to our troops and their families. As you well know, Americans are in the middle of tax filing season, with many counting on tax refunds that they are legally owed by the government. Most importantly, the federal government is in a financially precarious position, currently utilizing accounting maneuvers to continue paying its bills since it reached the debt limit at the beginning of the year. I am concerned that mismanagement of these payment systems could threaten the full faith and credit of the United States.
Accordingly, I am deeply concerned by the possibility that Elon Musk and a cadre of other unknown DOGE personnel are seeking to gain access to and potentially control the Fiscal Service’s payment systems in order to carry out a political agenda that clearly involves violating the law. It appears that Musk’s behavior is forcing out highly qualified and experienced career public servants in order to get his way and fulfill Trump’s goal of eviscerating the federal budget, including potentially by cutting social security and Medicare benefits for millions of Americans who are already struggling to pay their bills or buy groceries.
“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,” Wyden writes. “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. 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 … The federal government is in a financially precarious position, currently utilizing accounting maneuvers to continue paying its bills since it reached the debt limit at the beginning of the year. I am concerned that mismanagement of these payment systems could threaten the full faith and credit of the United States.”
Sentaor Wyden also points out the potential national security risk posed by Musk’s access to U.S. Treasury data, especially given his close ties with China.
The press has previously reported that Musk was denied a high-level clearance to access the government’s most sensitive secrets. I am concerned that Musk’s enormous business operation in China — a country whose intelligence agencies have stolen vast amounts of sensitive data about Americans, including U.S. government employee data by hacking U.S. government systems — endangers U.S. cybersecurity and creates conflicts of interest that make his access to these systems a national security risk.
Conclusion
Elon Musk may be a brilliant engineer and businessman, but Senator Wyden makes a strong case that there are legitimate concerns about he and his department being given access to such sensitive data.
Further complicating the issue is Musk’s track record, especially with his acquisition of Twitter. Musk showed little to no regard for previous agreements and contracts that Twitter was legally bound by, whether in the form of lease agreements, compensation contracts, or cloud computing agreements. As a result, Twitter/X defaulted on any number of agreements and suffered significant reputational damage as a result.
While recklessly managing a business he purchased and took private is well within Musk’s prerogative, the argument can be made that one should demonstrate far more maturity, responsibility, and restraint when conducting the finances of a government that millions of people rely on.
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