Following the US Treasury granting Elon Musks’ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) restricted access to its payments systems, protestors gathered in Washington to voice concerns.
Musk’s DOGE is now able to access ‘read-only’ and ‘coded data’ to the Treasury’s payments system. This data will be surveyed by only one DOGE official, that being James Krause, who also has an office inside the Treasury.
After the department confirmed DOGE’s access yesterday (4 February), protestors gathered outside the Treasury’s headquarters in Washington over fears Musk will hold too much power and authority over how citizens handle their funds.
“Hands off our money” and “Stop Elon’s Takeover” signs were demonstrated and were joined by Democrat members of Congress, such as Maxwell Frost, Maxine Waters and Senators Chuck Schumer and Jeff Merkley.
“He has access to all our information, our social security numbers, the federal payment system. What’s going to stop him from stealing taxpayer money?” demonstrated Maxwell.
Fears are growing amongst Democrats and certain sections of the US population over Musk’s growing involvement in the US Treasury and economic departments.
Will DOGE play a role in US payments?
Under an executive order by President Donald Trump, Musk was tasked to head DOGE which will oversee the reduction in wasteful and fraudulent federal spending, modernising the government’s financial infrastructure and maximising efficiency, amongst other objectives.
Musk has a deep background in payments, co-founding PayPal in the 1990s, and is on a similar path with social media platform X, which he has owned since 2022. These plans took a step forward recently when Visa gave its backing to help launch X Money to enable per-to-per transactions on the platform.
However, some politicians and the public opposition are becoming increasingly trepidatious over Musk’s role within government affairs due to his close ties to President Trump.
In a letter sent to Senator Ron Wyden, confirming DOGE’s limited access to the Treasury’s payments system, Treasury Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Legislative Affairs, Jonathan Blum, assured that DOGE will only play a minor role and that the US payment system will remain “robust and effective”.
He said in the letter: “(The) Treasury is committed to safeguarding the integrity and security of the system, given the implications of any compromise or disruption to the US economy.”
Can US citizens trust the Treasury?
In response to Blum’s letter, Senator Wyden alluded to Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent not being completely honest with the US population regarding Musk’s involvement. He asserted that “nothing they’re saying is believable or trustworthy”.
After the Treasury clearance, Wyden went on to say to Bloomberg: “I’m sure the Treasury secretary and the president want to save face and downplay the risks as Elon Musk seizes power, but nothing they’re saying is believable or trustworthy.
“The American people can see what’s happening, and Secretary Bessent is asking them not to believe what’s playing out right in front of their eyes.”
Wyden had already voiced concerns to Bessent a week prior over Musks’ potential involvement in payment affairs. Whilst DOGE only has restricted access for now, this leads to further speculation that Musk could be granted additional access in the future.
Despite the growing concerns, Trump reasserted that Musk does not have the ability to handle and potentially stop payments without his approval, telling reporters at the White House last Monday (3 February), “If there was something that didn’t have my ok, I’d let you know about it really fast”.