U.S. Treasury’s Payment System Not Affected by Elon Musk’s Team

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury’s payment system remains unaffected by Elon Musk’s government efficiency team, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a Fox Business interview on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Treasury announced Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had been granted “read-only access” to its payment system codes. However, they clarified this did not cut off any government payments, including those for Social Security or Medicare.

Bessent explained that a study is ongoing to enhance accountability, accuracy, and traceability to ensure Treasury funds are properly allocated. However, he emphasized that the payments themselves were “not being touched.” He stated that any decisions regarding changes to government disbursements would fall to other agencies, not through Treasury’s payment system.

He mentioned, “In terms of payments being stopped, that is happening upstream at the department level.”

Bessent praised Musk’s efforts to reduce government spending and expressed confidence in the future of DOGE, unlike previous government efficiency initiatives such as the Grace Commission from the 1980s or those during Bill Clinton’s administration in the 1990s. He referred to Musk, the CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, as “the greatest entrepreneur of this generation,” and noted that DOGE was already causing discomfort among some interests in Washington.