Trump administration grants allies of Musk entry to Treasury payment system
Treasury is experiencing an internal conflict regarding the level of access Musk should be granted to the system, which is essential for managing trillions of dollars in government payments annually.
TroibNews 
Plans have been approved by the Trump administration to provide Treasury officials linked to Elon Musk's team with access to the federal payment system, which handles trillions of dollars in transactions, as confirmed by two sources with knowledge of the situation.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has authorized access for a team led by Tom Krause, CEO of Cloud Software Group, who is currently working with the Treasury Department and acting as a liaison to Musk’s DOGE group, which operates through the United States Digital Service. One insider noted that Krause's involvement will be regulated with safeguards designed to prevent any modifications to the system and ensure that no external entities have access.
“The secretary’s approval was contingent on it being essentially a read-only operation,” stated the individual.
There has been internal contention within the Treasury regarding the extent of access Musk and his associates should have to this crucial system, which manages payments to millions of Americans every year. The Trump administration has also moved to freeze funds for previously authorized programs it opposes, raising concerns among leading Democrats about what they perceive as an unprecedented consolidation of power.
David Lebryk, a long-serving official who managed Treasury’s financing and payments operations, abruptly resigned on Friday following disagreements with Trump officials about granting access to the payments system, which contains sensitive details about recipients of government payments. This system is instrumental in controlling payments for Social Security, tax refunds, grants, and compensations for federal employees and contractors.
Requests for comments from a Treasury Department spokesperson went unanswered, as did inquiries directed to a White House spokesperson for Musk’s DOGE group.
The uncertainty surrounding who will be allowed access to Treasury’s payment infrastructure — and whether these individuals could potentially disrupt payment processes — has added a new layer to the political discourse regarding Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Another source indicated that Treasury officials were particularly dissatisfied with the developments.
Musk indicated on Saturday that his government efficiency group’s push for increased control over Treasury's payments was aimed at eliminating fraud and improper payments.
“The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups,” Musk claimed. “They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.”
However, Musk did not provide any supporting evidence for his assertion about Treasury's approval practices concerning fraudulent or terrorist organizations.
The Bureau of Fiscal Service, which administers Treasury's payment system, features a payments integrity office dedicated to identifying, preventing, and recovering fraud and improper payments. According to the Treasury, these efforts have helped avert improper payments of nearly $155 million and facilitated the recovery of almost $350 million.
"BFS is studiously apolitical," remarked Lily Batchelder, who served as a Treasury secretary for tax policy during the Biden administration. "It is deeply concerning that political appointees in the White House would be attempting to interfere with people’s Social Security benefits and tax refunds."
Democrats have criticized the actions of Trump appointees and Musk’s DOGE group as they seek greater control over a federal payments system that has historically been managed by nonpolitical career staff.
“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,” wrote Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, in a letter to Bessent on Friday evening. The Oregon Democrat raised concerns over the potential for Musk’s associates to access sensitive information that could benefit Musk's expansive business interests.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who leads the Senate Banking Committee's Democratic contingent, also called for a congressional investigation.
The federal government enforces measures designed to prevent erroneous payments. For instance, a Do Not Pay portal enables agencies to confirm whether a recipient is deceased, banned from government contracting, sanctioned, incarcerated, or otherwise ineligible.
Under the Biden administration, Treasury has highlighted new initiatives utilizing artificial intelligence to identify fraud and improper payments, reporting in October that these efforts had facilitated the prevention and recovery of over $4 billion in the 2024 fiscal year.
Nevertheless, improper payments across federal programs have remained a persistent issue that has consistently raised alarms among government watchdogs and congressional legislators. The Government Accountability Office projected last year that the federal government might be losing between $233 billion and $521 billion annually due to fraudulent activities.
In the 2024 fiscal year, federal agencies reported $236 billion in improper payments, with the majority stemming from Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, pandemic relief loans to small businesses, the Treasury’s earned income tax credit, and Social Security payments.
Navid Kalantari for TROIB News
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has authorized access for a team led by Tom Krause, CEO of Cloud Software Group, who is currently working with the Treasury Department and acting as a liaison to Musk’s DOGE group, which operates through the United States Digital Service. One insider noted that Krause's involvement will be regulated with safeguards designed to prevent any modifications to the system and ensure that no external entities have access.
“The secretary’s approval was contingent on it being essentially a read-only operation,” stated the individual.
There has been internal contention within the Treasury regarding the extent of access Musk and his associates should have to this crucial system, which manages payments to millions of Americans every year. The Trump administration has also moved to freeze funds for previously authorized programs it opposes, raising concerns among leading Democrats about what they perceive as an unprecedented consolidation of power.
David Lebryk, a long-serving official who managed Treasury’s financing and payments operations, abruptly resigned on Friday following disagreements with Trump officials about granting access to the payments system, which contains sensitive details about recipients of government payments. This system is instrumental in controlling payments for Social Security, tax refunds, grants, and compensations for federal employees and contractors.
Requests for comments from a Treasury Department spokesperson went unanswered, as did inquiries directed to a White House spokesperson for Musk’s DOGE group.
The uncertainty surrounding who will be allowed access to Treasury’s payment infrastructure — and whether these individuals could potentially disrupt payment processes — has added a new layer to the political discourse regarding Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Another source indicated that Treasury officials were particularly dissatisfied with the developments.
Musk indicated on Saturday that his government efficiency group’s push for increased control over Treasury's payments was aimed at eliminating fraud and improper payments.
“The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups,” Musk claimed. “They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.”
However, Musk did not provide any supporting evidence for his assertion about Treasury's approval practices concerning fraudulent or terrorist organizations.
The Bureau of Fiscal Service, which administers Treasury's payment system, features a payments integrity office dedicated to identifying, preventing, and recovering fraud and improper payments. According to the Treasury, these efforts have helped avert improper payments of nearly $155 million and facilitated the recovery of almost $350 million.
"BFS is studiously apolitical," remarked Lily Batchelder, who served as a Treasury secretary for tax policy during the Biden administration. "It is deeply concerning that political appointees in the White House would be attempting to interfere with people’s Social Security benefits and tax refunds."
Democrats have criticized the actions of Trump appointees and Musk’s DOGE group as they seek greater control over a federal payments system that has historically been managed by nonpolitical career staff.
“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,” wrote Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, in a letter to Bessent on Friday evening. The Oregon Democrat raised concerns over the potential for Musk’s associates to access sensitive information that could benefit Musk's expansive business interests.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who leads the Senate Banking Committee's Democratic contingent, also called for a congressional investigation.
The federal government enforces measures designed to prevent erroneous payments. For instance, a Do Not Pay portal enables agencies to confirm whether a recipient is deceased, banned from government contracting, sanctioned, incarcerated, or otherwise ineligible.
Under the Biden administration, Treasury has highlighted new initiatives utilizing artificial intelligence to identify fraud and improper payments, reporting in October that these efforts had facilitated the prevention and recovery of over $4 billion in the 2024 fiscal year.
Nevertheless, improper payments across federal programs have remained a persistent issue that has consistently raised alarms among government watchdogs and congressional legislators. The Government Accountability Office projected last year that the federal government might be losing between $233 billion and $521 billion annually due to fraudulent activities.
In the 2024 fiscal year, federal agencies reported $236 billion in improper payments, with the majority stemming from Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, pandemic relief loans to small businesses, the Treasury’s earned income tax credit, and Social Security payments.
Navid Kalantari for TROIB News
