Musk: U.S. government efficiency department will suspend payments to contractors from the Treasury Department

Odaily Planet Daily News Musk said that law enforcement officers under his leadership of the "Department of U.S. Government Efficiency (DOGE) Team" are stopping payments to federal contractors, indicating that they may have access to sensitive systems used by the U.S. Treasury Department. "Corruption and waste are being eradicated in real time," Musk posted on X on Sunday, saying that DOGE is stopping payments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Lutheran Family Services, a religious charity that has been providing social services to refugees. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to questions about the scope of Musk's access rights. Musk's statement last weekend came after the departure last week of David Lebryk, the most senior career official at the Treasury Department, who was in charge of the payment system of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. These systems are strictly controlled and may contain sensitive information of taxpayers, contractors and beneficiaries. Treasury officials have long insisted that their duty is to act as a checkbook for the federal government, and the decision to approve or reject payments lies with individual agencies based on funds allocated by Congress. Musk added: "The DOGE team found that the Treasury Department's payment approval officials were always instructed to approve payments, even to known fraud or terrorist organizations. They have never rejected any payment in their entire careers. Not once." (Fortune) Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal quoted sources as saying that the U.S. Treasury Department has agreed to allow Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to enter a payment system that distributes trillions of dollars in benefits, subsidies and tax refunds to Americans each year, which is usually managed by career civil servants. Finance Minister Bessant approved the move.