A power shift at the U.S. Treasury Department puts Elon Musk in charge of a critical government payment system.
According to WokeSpy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has granted Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to the system that processes approximately $5 trillion in annual government disbursements.
The development follows the sudden departure of David Lebryk, a longtime Treasury official who had consistently opposed Musk's attempts to gain control of the payment system. Lebryk announced his retirement after being placed on administrative leave, marking a significant change in Treasury operations.
The payment system, responsible for essential government functions, including Social Security and Medicare payments, has traditionally operated under strict protocols. Industry experts have expressed concerns about potential economic instability if the system experiences any disruptions.
Mark Mazur, a Treasury official, emphasized the mechanical nature of the department's payment operations. He explained that the system's primary function involves routine tasks such as processing Social Security benefits and vendor payments, with minimal room for discretionary decision-making.
Senator Ron Wyden, serving as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has raised concerns about the implications of granting Musk access to these critical systems. The Democratic senator from Oregon suggested that officials associated with Musk might attempt to illegally withhold payments from various programs.
Taking to his social media platform X, Musk defended the recent changes while making serious allegations about the Treasury's previous practices. According to his posts, his team discovered concerning patterns in payment approvals.
Musk posted on X:
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. They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.
Before his departure, Lebryk addressed Treasury employees through a farewell letter:
The Fiscal Service performs some of the most vital functions in government. Our work may be unknown to most of the public, but that doesn't mean it isn't exceptionally important.
The controversy has extended beyond the Treasury Department, affecting other government agencies. Two senior officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development were placed on administrative leave after refusing to grant DOGE access to their systems.
Musk subsequently criticized USAID on social media, describing it as "evil" and "a viper's nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America." The Tesla CEO's comments have intensified the ongoing debate about government payment system oversight.
The development represents a significant shift in how government disbursements may be monitored and controlled in the future. With Musk's DOGE now having access to the Treasury's payment system, questions remain about potential changes to payment approval processes and their implications for government operations.
The Treasury Department's $5 trillion annual payment system now operates under Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency following the departure of longtime official David Lebryk. This unprecedented access to government payment systems has sparked concerns from Democratic lawmakers and industry experts about potential disruptions to essential government disbursements, including Social Security and Medicare payments. The situation continues to evolve as additional government agencies face pressure to grant similar access to Musk's team.
