Zinger Key Points
- Warren sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary bashing Musk’s 'meddling' with the system that processes trillions in transactions.
- AOC says Musk's 'raiding US classified information is a grave threat to national security,' calls the situation a 5-alarm fire.
- Get the Real Story Behind Every Major Earnings Report
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been granted access to a sensitive Treasury Department payment system containing personal data of millions of Americans receiving tax refunds, Medicare, Social Security and other payments from the federal government.
How Did This $6 Trillion Agency Fall Under Musk’s Purview?
According to the New York Times, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved the access late Friday, which coincided with the resignation of David Lebryk, a career Treasury official who clashed with DOGE over the system. The Bureau of Fiscal Service, normally run by civil servants, processes over $6 trillion annually.
Democrats Are Furious
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee sent a letter on Monday to Bessent demanding answers, calling Musk's "meddling” with a system that processes trillions in transactions "extraordinarily dangerous."
"I am alarmed that as one of your first acts as Secretary, you appear to have handed over a highly sensitive system responsible for millions of Americans' private data – and a key function of government – to an unelected billionaire and an unknown number of his unqualified flunkies,” Warren wrote.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, did the same on Friday. "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,” he said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called the situation a five alarm fire following news that Musk was intending to merge the U.S. Agency for International Development with the State Department — a move that requires Congressional approval. "The people elected Donald Trump to be President ― not Elon Musk. Having an unelected billionaire, with his own foreign debts and motives, raiding US classified information is a grave threat to national security," AOC wrote on X.
Musk said early Monday that Trump has "agreed" to the USAID shutdown, according to The Hill.
Remember The Constitution?
The U.S. Constitution explicitly requires Senate confirmation for anyone wielding significant federal power, a requirement that Musk has apparently been enabled by President Donald Trump to ignore. This was demonstrated recently when Musk installed numerous loyalists throughout the government, essentially demanding access to many of the levers of power.
The mounting news of Musk-led takeovers and threats of more to come have heightened fears the Trump administration is consolidating power by sidelining career officials, not to mention stripping many Americans and institutions of much needed financial payments.
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