WASHINGTON (AP) — A Treasury Department official wrote a letter Tuesday to federal lawmakers saying that a tech executive working with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency will have “read-only access” to the government's payment system.
The official sent the letter out of concerns from members of Congress that DOGE's involvement with the payment system for the federal government could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations, has raised concerns about its intentions and overruling of career officials at multiple agencies. Democratic lawmakers have voiced frustration over the lack of transparency and public accountability, saying that Musk's people might illegally withhold payments to suit their political agenda.
The official said that the ongoing “review” has “not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed.”
The letter said that Tom Krause, who is also listed online as the CEO of Cloud Software Group, was working at Treasury as a “special government employee.” The letter also said that Krause is conducting the effort in coordination with career treasury officials.
Treasury's payments are managed by the Fiscal Service, which conducts over 1.2 billion transactions annually and accounts for 90% of federal disbursements. The official said the review is about payment integrity.
However, some Democrats are not convinced about the notion that DOGE has read-only access.
“Some Republicans are trying to suggest that Musk only has ‘viewing access’ to Treasury’s highly sensitive payment system as if that’s acceptable either," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a statement.
“But why on earth should we believe that — particularly when he is saying the exact opposite loudly and repeatedly for everyone to see?”
Josh Boak & Fatima Hussein, The Associated Press
