How Elon Musk’s team gained access to US Treasury’s $6 trillion payment system amid spending battle
Elon Musk’s associates have secured access to the U.S. Treasury’s sensitive payment systems, a move that follows the removal of David A. Lebryk, a senior career official at the department. The Treasury’s payment systems, which control more than $6 trillion annually, handle vital functions such as Social Security benefits, tax refunds, and federal employee salaries. The decision to grant Musk’s team access to these systems came after Lebryk, who had served in various nonpolitical roles at Treasury for decades, was placed on administrative leave by Trump-affiliated officials.
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On Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed off on the access, allowing a team led by Tom Krause, a Silicon Valley executive, to oversee Treasury’s payment functions. Krause’s team operates under the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), a group that Musk has assembled to reform government processes. The approval marked a significant shift in Treasury operations, traditionally overseen by career civil servants and not political appointees.
Lebryk’s Departure Amid Political Tensions
Lebryk, who had been serving as the acting Treasury Secretary before Bessent’s confirmation, had resisted the idea of granting access to political operatives associated with Musk’s group. He had pushed back against requests to allow Musk's surrogates into the Treasury’s highly sensitive systems. According to sources, he had insisted, «We don’t do that,» when Trump’s team asked about the possibility of halting payments
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