Elon Musk’s access to Treasury’s payment system is raising alarms. Here’s what to know.
With Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gaining control of the Treasury Department’s payment system, consumer advocates and Democratic lawmakers are raising alarms about the group’s access to the federal government’s financial spigot, as well as sensitive data such as the Social Security numbers of most taxpayers.
DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to reduce federal spending, now has access to a Treasury unit called the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which disburses trillions in payments each year, including Social Security checks and federal salaries, according to the Associated Press.
Musk’s access to the payment system is raising concerns as it comes just days after the White House ordered a broad freeze on federal grants and loans, causing confusion within federal assistance programs, at nonprofits and among Americans receiving government aid. That same day, state Medicaid programs said they were locked out of the Department of Health and Human Services system used to track and disburse money.
What are the concerns?
While the White House later rescinded the memo and a judge halted the freeze, DOGE’s control of the Treasury’s payment system raises questions about the Trump administration’s ability to halt the flow of federal funds for programs including Medicare and Social Security. It’s also causing concerns about DOGE’s access to the personal and financial information of most taxpayers.
“There’s no community of Americans that this system does not touch, and so I think the concern is that access to this system including personally identifiable information has been ceded to the president’s billionaire friend for reasons that are passing understanding,” Donald K. Sherman, executive director and chief counsel of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told CBS MoneyWatch.
There are “quite real risks” that DOGE “could potentially undermine that system and threaten millions of Americans from getting payments that they are due,” he added.
Musk’s access to the Treasury payment system has sparked concern from Democratic lawmakers including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, while a lawsuit was filed on Monday alleging “unlawful ongoing, systematic, and continuous disclosure of personal and financial information” to Musk and DOGE. The lawsuit, filed by two unions and the Alliance for Retired Americans, names U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Treasury as defendants.
“Controlling the system could allow the Trump Administration to ‘unilaterally’ – and illegally – cut off payments for millions of Americans, putting at risk the financial security of families and businesses based on political favoritism or the whims of Mr. Musk and those on his team who have worked their way inside,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, in a Feb. 2 letter to Bessent.
She added, “It could also give them access to millions of Americans’ personal and financial information that is protected by law.”
The Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Here’s what to know about the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
What is the Bureau of the Fiscal Service?
The Treasury has long been the federal government’s checkbook, tasked with handling payments for individual agencies based on funds appropriated by Congress. Its systems control the flow of over $6 trillion in payments to American families, businesses and other recipients each year.
The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service handles most of those payments. About 90 cents of every $1 in federal payments are sent through the little-known division.
In fiscal 2023, the unit disbursed nearly 1.3 billion payments totaling $5.4 trillion, according to the agency. Almost 97% of the payments were made electronically and all were made on time, it noted.
How did DOGE get control of the payment system?
The executive order signed by President Trump that created DOGE directed all agencies to make sure it was given “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems and IT systems.” DOGE itself is not a federal department.
Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, gained control of the system after Treasury’s acting Deputy Secretary, David Lebryk, resigned from his position after more than 30 years of service. Lebryk stepped down after Musk and his DOGE organization requested access to sensitive Treasury data, the Washington Post had reported.
On Sunday, Musk stated that DOGE had stopped payments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human services to Lutheran Family Services, a faith-based charity that had been offering social services to refugees.
Could this impact Social Security?
Lawmakers and consumer advocates are raising concerns about the potential impact on government programs including Social Security, although neither Musk nor Mr. Trump have flagged Social Security as a target for cuts.
Indeed, Mr. Trump has said he will preserve Social Security, and while on the campaign trail he vowed to eliminate taxes on Social Security Income. But because the Bureau of the Fiscal Services sends monthly checks to more than 70 million Social Security beneficiaries, some advocates say they’re worried.
Musk and DOGE “now have access to the personal information of every Social Security beneficiary — and the ability to stop payments for any federal programs they dislike,” said Max Richtman, CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an advocacy group for the programs, in an email. “Seniors, their families, and people with disabilities most certainly cannot trust Trump and Musk with their crucial federal benefits — or their personal data.”
Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a Jan. 31 letter to Bessent that he’s concerned that Social Security checks could be impacted, “whether intentional or unintentional.”
“It appears that Musk’s behavior is forcing out highly qualified and experienced career public servants in order to get his way and fulfill Trump’s goal of eviscerating the federal budget, including potentially by cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits for millions of Americans who are already struggling to pay their bills or buy groceries,” he wrote.
Does Musk have access to taxpayers’ personal data?
Lawmakers and consumer advocates are also raising concerns about DOGE’s access to personal data for millions of American taxpayers. Because the Bureau of the Fiscal Service distributes tax refunds and Social Security payments, it has access to the Social Security numbers and bank accounts of recipients.
Kate Miller, who serves on an advisory board for DOGE, didn’t respond to requests for comment but did repost an Associated Press article on X with the comment, “No classified material was accessed without proper security clearances.”
Access to that personal information could pose risks to taxpayers, according to data safety experts.
“Traditionally, access to this information has been highly restricted and among the most secure information the U.S. government holds,” said James E. Lee, the president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch.
He added, “This is the kind of information that, if it found its way into the hands of a bad actor, could lead to a wide range of identity crimes – impersonation to open new accounts or access existing ones, theft of the funds in an existing banking account, applying for new state or federal government benefits, and filing false tax returns among other forms of identity fraud.”
The data is also sensitive because it could be useful to intelligence agencies in other nations, including the personal data of government employees or ties that businesses have with the U.S. government, Lee noted.
That concern was echoed by Sen. Wyden, who in the Jan. 31 letter to Bessent questioned granting access to sensitive information to Musk due to significant business interests in China, noting that Tesla operates its largest factory in China. Musk didn’t respond to a request for comment.
contributed to this report.