Washington: The US Treasury announced on Tuesday that Elon Musk’s government reform team can see data from its sensitive payment system but cannot make any changes to it. This came after democratic lawmakers raised concerns and asked for an investigation.
Musk, the world’s richest person, leads President Donald Trump’s federal cost -saving efforts under the so -called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
As part of this initiative, he reportedly pushed for a team led by IT -performing Tom Krause to access the Treasury’s Department’s densely guarded payment system that handles trillion of dollars transactions, from social security and Medicare payments to federal wages.
In response, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden on Tuesday sent a letter to Congressional Watchdog Agency, demanding that it probe that Secretary of State Scott had personally gave Musk and his helpers this permission.
The treasury in a letter sent to parliament and shared with AFP confirmed Kraus’s team has access to the system, but said it is “read -only access … to continue this operational efficiency assessment.”
They said the permit was “similar to the kind of access that the Treasury gives to individuals undergoing treasury systems, such as accountants.”
Musk’s efficiency drive has met a strong opposition from democratic lawmakers who have raised a wide range of legal and ethical concerns about his efforts to cut federal expenses.
In a separate letter sent to Republican President Donald Trump on Tuesday, other democratic decision makers expressed concern about Dog’s work involving government data and facilities.
Workers’ Associations and a Grassroots Advocate Group have also objected to the movements, filed a lawsuit that calls on a federal judge to declare it illegally for musk or others from DOGE to get personal information about taxpayers and to block the state object department from allowing it to happen .
In a post of X, the social media platform he owns, Musk said on Monday that the “only way to stop fraud and a waste of taxpayer money is to follow the payment streams and put suspicious transactions for review.”
Musk’s access to the payment system was approved by Bessent and made possible when a career official was placed on administrative leave after refusing to allow entry, according to the trial. The official later retired.
