Does Elon Musk have an hidden agenda?
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration for clarification regarding reports that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are attempting to access sensitive payment systems within the U.S. Treasury Department.
Musk and his team have been pushing for aggressive cuts to federal spending, arguing that government waste is out of control. One of their most ambitious efforts involved attempting to freeze all federal grant spending, a move that would have affected trillions of dollars. Earlier this week, President Trump ordered the Office of Management and Budget to halt all federal grants and loans, but the order was rescinded two days later following confusion and backlash.
Uncertainty at the Treasury Department grew on Friday, when David A. Lebryk, a longtime career official, unexpectedly announced his retirement. Although no official reason was given for his departure, reports from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Hill, citing anonymous sources, suggest that Lebryk’s resignation stemmed from ongoing tensions with Musk’s DOGE team, which had been attempting to gain access to Treasury’s payment systems.
Following the resignation, Musk took to social media, posting on X (formerly Twitter) that his team had discovered Treasury payment approval officers were routinely approving payments—even to fraudulent or terrorist-linked entities—without ever denying a single transaction. However, Musk has yet to provide any evidence to support these claims.
While the Treasury Department has not publicly addressed Lebryk’s departure, lawmakers, including Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), are demanding answers. In a letter dated January 31 to newly-confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Wyden directly questioned reports that Musk’s team attempted to access systems controlling payments to millions of Americans, including Social Security, Medicare, and tax refunds.
Wyden raised concerns about the abrupt nature of Lebryk’s resignation, especially given the recent shut down of Medicaid portals across all 50 states and other key government payment systems following Trump’s attempted grant freeze. He called the reports “deeply troubling” and insisted on clarification regarding Musk’s role, whether he or DOGE had been granted access to Treasury’s systems, and what authority had been used to allow it.
The situation has sparked fears about the potential for disruptions to crucial government services, with lawmakers urging the Treasury Department to immediately disclose the extent of Musk’s involvement and whether any federal safeguards have been bypassed.
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