Musk Claims DOGE Team Halts Payments To Federal Contractors

According to Odaily, Elon Musk announced that the "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)" under his leadership is stopping payments to federal contractors, suggesting potential access to sensitive systems used by the U.S. Treasury. Musk stated on X that corruption and waste are being eliminated in real-time, highlighting that DOGE is halting payments from the Department of Health and Human Services to Lutheran Family Services, a religious charity providing social services to refugees. The Treasury did not immediately respond to inquiries about Musk's access scope. Before Musk's statement last weekend, David Lebryk, the Treasury's most senior career official, left his position. He was responsible for the payment systems of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which are tightly controlled and may contain sensitive information about taxpayers, contractors, and beneficiaries. Treasury officials have long maintained that their role is to act as the federal government's checkbook, with payment approval or denial decisions resting with individual agencies based on congressional appropriations. Musk further claimed that DOGE discovered Treasury payment approval officers were always instructed to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist organizations, and had never refused any payment throughout their careers. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Treasury has agreed to allow Musk's DOGE access to a payment system that distributes trillions of dollars in benefits, grants, and tax refunds annually, typically managed by career civil servants. Treasury Secretary Besant approved this move.