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According to a report by The New York Times on Saturday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted DOGE representatives full access to the federal payments system. The report cited individuals familiar with the decision but did not disclose further details.
Elon Musk suggested on Saturday that his government efficiency group’s efforts to gain greater control over the Treasury Department’s distribution of trillions of dollars in payments were aimed at addressing fraud and illicit transactions.
Departure of David Lebryk
Musk, a billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, made his remarks on X, responding to reports regarding the sudden departure of David Lebryk, Treasury’s top career official. Lebryk reportedly clashed with Musk-affiliated officials over whether to grant them access to Treasury’s sensitive payment system.
“The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups,” Musk wrote, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.”
However, Musk did not provide any evidence to support his claim that Treasury employees were directed to approve payments to fraudulent or terrorist organizations.
Treasury’s Safeguards Against Improper Treasury Payments
The Bureau of Fiscal Service (BFS), which oversees Treasury’s payment system, has a dedicated payments integrity office responsible for identifying, preventing, and recovering fraudulent or improper payments. Treasury data indicates that these efforts have prevented nearly $155 million in improper payments and facilitated the recovery of approximately $350 million.
Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns over attempts by Trump’s political appointees and Musk’s DOGE team to exert greater influence over a federal payments system traditionally managed by nonpartisan career officials.
“To put it bluntly, these payment systems simply cannot fail, and any politically motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country and the economy,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, in a letter to Bessent on Friday evening.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the leading Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, has called for a congressional investigation into the matter.
Federal Fraud Prevention Measures for Improper Treasury Payments
The federal government has existing safeguards to prevent improper payments. The Do Not Pay portal, for instance, allows agencies to verify whether a recipient is deceased, blacklisted from government contracts, sanctioned, incarcerated, or otherwise ineligible for payments.
During the Biden administration, Treasury introduced artificial intelligence tools to detect fraudulent and improper payments. In October, the department reported that these efforts had prevented and recovered over $4 billion in the 2024 fiscal year.
Scrutiny of Improper Payments
Despite these measures, improper payments in federal programs remain a longstanding issue, drawing scrutiny from government watchdogs and congressional lawmakers. The problem has worsened in recent years, particularly with the expansion of relief programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated last year that the federal government could be losing between $233 billion and $521 billion annually due to fraud.
In the 2024 fiscal year, federal agencies reported $236 billion in improper payments. The majority originated from Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, pandemic relief loans for small businesses, the Treasury’s earned income tax credit, and Social Security payments.
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