Washington: The US Treasury announced on Tuesday that Elon Musk’s government reform team will be able to view data from its sensitive payment system but cannot make any changes to it. This came after Democratic lawmakers raised concerns and called for an investigation.
Musk, the world’s richest person, is leading President Donald Trump’s federal cost-cutting efforts under the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
As part of that initiative, he reportedly pushed for a team led by IT executive Tom Krause to be given access to the Treasury Department’s closely guarded payment system, which handles trillions of dollars in transactions, including Social Security and Medicare payouts and federal salaries.
In response, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent a letter on Tuesday to the congressional watchdog agency demanding an investigation into reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent personally granted Musk and his aides permission to access the system.
The Treasury, in a letter sent to Parliament and shared with AFP, confirmed that Krause’s team has access to the system but stated that it is “read-only access… in order to continue this operational efficiency assessment.”
They mentioned that the permission was “similar to the kind of access that Treasury provides to individuals reviewing Treasury systems, such as auditors.”
Musk’s efficiency push has met with strong opposition from Democratic lawmakers, who have raised various legal and ethical concerns about his efforts to reduce federal spending.
In a separate letter sent to Republican President Donald Trump on Tuesday, other Democratic policymakers expressed concern about DOGE’s work involving government data and facilities.
Labor unions and a grassroots advocacy group have also objected to the moves, filing a lawsuit calling for a federal judge to declare it illegal for Musk or others from DOGE to obtain personal information on taxpayers, and to block the Treasury Department from allowing such actions.
In a post on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk stated on Monday, “The only way to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money is to follow the payment flows and pause suspicious transactions for review.”
