WASHINGTON (TNND) — Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has been granted entry to the U.S. Treasury Division’s delicate fee system, elevating issues over potential conflicts of curiosity and the politicization of presidency funds.
Musk, via his Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) company, has been allowed to look at the system, that processes funds authorised by Congress.
In a submit on X over the weekend, Musk wrote “The @DOGE workforce found, amongst different issues, that fee approval officers at Treasury have been instructed all the time to approve funds, even to identified fraudulent or terrorist teams. They actually by no means denied a fee of their complete profession. Not even as soon as.”
President Donald Trump was requested about Musk’s involvement whereas fielding questions from the Oval Workplace on Monday. Trump expressed assist for Musk’s involvement.
He’s acquired entry solely to letting folks go that he thinks aren’t any good if we agree with him. And that’s provided that we agree with him. He’s a really proficient man from the standpoint of administration and prices,” stated President Trump.
New Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly authorised the choice to grant Musk entry. It got here after a former prime Treasury official and Musk clashed over entry to the fee system. The Washington Put up reported that Performing Deputy Treasury Secretary David Lebryk left after greater than 30 years with the division. He had reportedly refused to offer Musk and DOGE the flexibility to entry the system.
There’s concern concerning the potential misuse of the system, which accommodates the non-public data of hundreds of thousands of People. The Treasury primarily cuts the checks for spending that is already been authorised by Congress. The Division doesn’t act as a decider over the trillions of {dollars} in authorities spending. Politicizing the fee system, or making an attempt to chop off funds to issues Musk or DOGE do not agree with, can be a possible disaster, in keeping with critics. There’s additionally a possible battle of curiosity in keeping with some Democrats.
“Elon Musk, who himself receives billions of {dollars} in Authorities contracts, now seizing management over the fee programs to authorities contractors together with himself, together with potential rivals, together with potential mates. What might go incorrect, proper,” stated Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., to MSNBC over the weekend.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oree., the highest Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, despatched a letter to Bessent warning, “These fee programs merely can not fail, and any politically-motivated meddling in them dangers extreme harm to our nation and the financial system.”
Home Democratic chief Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., additionally pledged that his social gathering would draft laws to forestall “illegal entry” to the Treasury’s fee system.
What Musk and his workforce haven’t got, not less than for now, is the flexibility to function or make modifications to the funds. Any change would seemingly face a problem in court docket.
