Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday and demanded answers for why the so-called Department of Government Efficiency gained access to the federal payment system, giving Elon Musk and his team a powerful tool that could be used to Following and limiting the government spending may.
The letter is a sign of increasing indignation among Democrats about the unorthodox efforts that the Trump government and Mr. Musk prepare to take control of how congress approved funds are spent. The questions come after a career officer named David Lebryk resigned on Friday after requests to give the lieutenants of Mr. Musk access to the payment system of the Treasury.
“It is extremely dangerous to interfere with the critical systems that process trillions of dollars transactions every year, are essential to prevent a standard on federal debts and to ensure that tens of millions of Americans their social security controls, tax refunds and medicare benefits received, “wrote Mrs. Warren, the top democrat in the Senate bank committee.
The senator asked Mr Bessent to explain which treasury systems were made accessible to staff that are affiliated with Mr. Musk's efficiency department, what they intended to do with the data and what guarantees were to provide the private information of information of Protect Americans. She also released concern about the influence of Mr. Musk, the richest man in the world.
“I am alerted that as one of your first acts as a secretary you seem to have transferred a very sensitive system that is responsible for millions of private data from Americans – and an important function of the government – to a non -chosen billionaire and an unknown number From him unqualified flunkies, “wrote Mrs. Warren, who is also in the Senate Finance Committee.
The Musk fellow people who have gained access to the payment system were delivered, were government controls on the Rijksachtweg and obtained the necessary safety authorizations, according to two people familiar with the situation that spoke about the condition of anonymity to discuss internal regulations. Although their access was approved, the Musk representatives still have to get operational skills and no government payments have been blocked, people said.
Mr. Musk on Sunday accused career -officers of the career of “it every hour of every day of the law by approving payments that are fraudulent or do not match the financing laws adopted by the congress.”
The misleading accusation, which he has lobed on his social media platform, X without evidence, is the only official statement that the Trump administration has given about its interest in investigating the payment system of the Treasury Department. The system is usually run by civil servants at Treasury, who makes payments submitted by agencies in the government and paid more than $ 5 trillion in the fiscal year.
The Ministry of Finance has refused to comment on the issue, which the first week of Mr Bessent dominated in the job.
Current and former treasury officials are frustrated by the uncertain departure of Mr Lebryk and the public attacks on the credibility of the department.
“Every secretary of the treasury I was valued for, defended and respected the treasury and his staff,” wrote Mark Sobel, who served in the department for almost four decades, on social media. “Less than a week in, Scott Bessent has shown that he will not stand up for the institution and his employees.”
