Senate democrats sounded the alarms over Billionaire Elon Musk and his government efficiency team having been given access to the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system.
"It is like putting a tiger into a petting zoo," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Musk, who chairs the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, has been tasked by President Donald Trump to identify fraud and waste in the government and had sought access to the system Treasury uses to dole out federal funds.
Musk takes reins of US Treasury payments, sparking alarm
His efforts were resisted by a career Treasury official, David Lebryk, who was placed on leave this week and then retired. On Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Musk’s team access, the Times reported.
The system sends out more than $6 trillion per year in payments on behalf of federal agencies and contains the personal information of millions of Americans who receive Social Security payments, tax refunds and other monies from the government.
(Production: Deborah Lutterbeck)