Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
Podcast. This is a show where we discuss
the critical crossroads that shape SpaceX, Tesla X, The
Boring Company, and Neurolink. I'm your host, Will Walden.
So what exactly is Elon Musk doing with the US Treasury's
payment systems and how did he gain complete access to federal
financial operations? Also, he said that the US aid
would said it's a criminal organization that should die.
These are the questions we're going to ask today and we're
going to try to answer some of these things.
As his DOGE team is actively halting payments to government
contractors. This is raising concerns with
watchdog groups, but the extent of his influence over federal
funds. Now, Elon Musk announced on Next
that his Department of Government Efficiency is
shutting down payments to certain federal contractors,
including Lutheran Family Services.
He framed the move as an effort to eliminate corruption and
waste. He said the corruption and waste
is being rooted out in real time.
And he claimed the Doge staffers were rapidly shutting down
payments to organizations he described as unnecessary or
fraudulent. Now, is it his place to say
those things? Is it his place to make that
judgement if they're fraudulent or unnecessary?
I mean, it's he's part of the Doge now.
Government efficiency. But is this illegal?
Let me know in the comments if you have them on your podcast
platform. Now, the Treasury Department has
not confirmed the extent of Musk's access, but his comments
suggest he may be able to directly influence payment
processing systems. President Donald Trump had
previously tasked Musk with modernizing federal information
technology, but Musk's actions appear to extend far beyond that
mandate. Treasury officials have
historically maintained that their role is simply to process
payments approved by individual agencies based on congressional
appropriations. Now, Musk's involvement in
government financial operations took a new turn when top
security officials at the US Agency of International
Development of USAID were placed on leave after refusing to grant
DOGE staffers access to sensitive financial systems.
Now, USAID personnel argued the DOGE employees lack the
necessary security clearances to review classified financial
data. Now Musk responded aggressively,
like he does sometimes calling USAID a criminal organization
that should die. This inflammatory statement came
in the USADSAID's website temporarily went offline, which
further fueled speculation about Musk's expanding influence over
federal agencies. USAID has long been responsible
for distributing billions of dollars in foreign aid,
including humanitarian assistance and economic
development programs. Now, the broader financial
infrastructure Musk is targeting handles 10s of billions of
dollars in daily transactions for the federal government.
These systems manage payments for Social Security, Medicare,
federal grants, and contracts with private companies.
The scale of these transactions raises serious questions about
the extent to which Musk's team is making unilateral decisions
about where government money flows.
Last week, David Lebrick, the most senior career official at
the Treasury Department, stepped down from his role overseeing
the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the division
responsible for processing federal payments.
His departure followed increasing tensions over Musk's
growing involvement in Treasury operations.
Now, while it remains unclear if Musk played a direct role in the
resignation, the timing has fueled speculation that Musk's
presence alone is creating friction within the federal
financial system. Now, Trump endorsed Musk's
actions during a conversation with reporters, calling him a
big cost cutter. And the former president
acknowledged that while he may not always agree with Musk's
approach, he believed Musk is doing a great job and is very
much into cutting the budget of our federal government.
And quote now, Trump's comments indicate that Musk's efforts
have the backing of his administration, even if they are
causing disruptions within federal agencies.
Senator Rob Wyden, the top Democrat Democrat on the Senate
Finance Committee, raised alarms about Musk's access to treasury
system, stating the Treasury Secretary, Scott Besent, had
granted DOGE full authority over payment operations.
Wyden specifically pointed out that this could impact Social
Security and Medicare benefits, as well as payments to govern
contractors, including those that directly compete with
Musk's own businesses. Now, 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. They literally never denied a
payment in their entire career, not even once, says Elon Musk.
Though he did not provide evidence for this assertion, his
post implied the previous Treasury officials had exercised
little to no oversight in preventing potentially illegal
payments. Now, the Treasury Department has
a Do Not Pay system designed to flag fraudulent transactions.
The system was implemented to prevent improper payments,
including those two entities with criminal records or
outstanding deaths to the federal government.
And Treasury officials have not commented on whether Musk's
allegations of unchecked payments are accurate now.
One of Doge's recent actions involved halting payments by the
Department of Health and Human Services, the HHS, the Lutheran
Family Services, which is a nonprofit organizations that
provides aid to refugees and other vulnerable populations.
HHS and Lutheran Family Services have not publicly responded to
Musk's claim or the decision to suspend their payments.
Now, Musk's critics argue that his efforts could disrupt
essential services and raise legal concerns, but whether he
has the authority to control federal payments.
Others worried that his influence over financial systems
could lead to conflicts of interest, particularly if
payments to competing companies are affected.
Now the broader question is whether Musk's role in
government spending is within legal bounds.
Federal law grants agencies authority over their own
budgets, with Treasury primarily acting as an administrative
entity to just process the payments.
Now, Musk's apparent ability to override those approvals
challenges the traditional structure of government
financial oversight. Checks and balances, people.
That's usually what we do in the United States.
And it looks like that's might not be happening anymore,
according to Elon Musk. And while Trump and his
administration continue to support Musk's efforts,
congressional leaders are increasingly scrutinizing his
influence. Lawmakers could push for
hearings to investigate whether Doge's actions aligned with
legal guidelines and whether Musk's role should be reigned
in. Also, let me know in the
comments if you think Elon Musk is doing the right thing or the
wrong thing here. He's in the right, let me know
why. If he's doing something wrong,
also let me know why. But for now, Musk's DOGE team is
operating with a level of authority the few outside
officials seem able to challenge.
His claims of rooting out corruption have resonated with
some in government, but the lack of transparency surrounding his
actions raises concerns about his accountability and Doge's
accountability, too. He has power over federal
financial operations right now, this drawing scrutiny
particularly as he expands his reach beyond the technology
modernization initiative he was originally tasked with by Donald
Trump. Now, whether his efforts will
lead to real cost savings or significant legal challenges
remains an open question. We don't know what he's doing
behind the scenes, there's no transparency and he's cutting
off funding for a lot of services.
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