Treasury says Musk’s Doge has not rejected payments in the first attempt to clarify access that is assigned critical system



Cnn

The Treasury Department said that Elon Musk helpers who are detailed to the agency have “read-only” access to its sensitive $ 5 trillion US payment system and that no payments have been suspended or rejected as part of a continuous review.

The information stated in a letter to legislators from a Ministry of Finance constitutes the first material effort to detail the role of the government’s efficiency staff who are detailed for the Agency in the operation of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

Efforts to gain access to the systems that are closely held and lynchpin of federal government’s payments have rattled career treasurers and raised considerable concern among legislators and former government officials in recent days, as CNN has reported.

“The ongoing review of Treasury’s systems does not result in the suspension or rejection of any payment instructions presented to Treasury by other federal agencies throughout the government,” a named official in the letter said Tuesday night. “In particular, the review of fiscal policy has not caused payments for commitments such as social security and Medicare to be delayed or redirected.”

The letter marks Treasury’s first public recognition and explanation of the role that Tom Krause has, CEO of the Cloud Software Group with ties to DOGE. In recent weeks, Krause was described as the central Doge-connected employee who made the efforts to secure access to the payment systems. Krause collided with career officials over the request and was eventually granted access from Finance Minister Scott Bessent.

Krause is now an employee of the Treasury Department with “Read-Only Access to the Coded Data for Fiscal Services Payment Systems to continue this operating efficiency assessment,” the letter states.

The actions of Krause and other DOGE representatives triggered widespread concern among career officials who were amazed at the intensifying requests for access to detailed payment system data and code. David Lebrik – the career official who led the agency and served as acting secretary, while Bessent was waiting for Senate’s confirmation – was placed in administrative leave before giving the agency after resisting the DODE team’s requests.

Bessent, after his affirmation and the departure of the Lebrik, gave access to Krause and his employees, said people who are familiar with the case.

But the Treasury has not said anything publicly about the fight behind the scenes-or the extent of Access Doge Associates was awarded and legislators were left in the dark about what happened. At the same time, Musk claimed on his social media platform X that his team canceled payments.

The Treasury -Officer said that Krause conducts the review of the payment systems covering 90% of all federal payments totaling 1.2 billion transactions a year, with “Veteran Career -Tax Officers, and all operational processes are continued only by careers -The tax staff in staff II compliance with all standards of security, security and privacy. ”

The letter also confirms that Krause has joined Treasury as a “specialist” – the same term that applies to Musk – which means he can only work for the government for 130 days or fewer over the next year.

“This role involves an employment process that includes a review of a candidate’s credentials and backgrounds and requires the same ethical standards for privacy, confidentiality, conflicts of interest and professionalism from other government employees. These assessments are made by career and ethical officials, ”the letter states. “Mr. Krause is subject to the same security obligations and ethical requirements, including a top secret security ready. ”