U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ranking member Warren and Senate Finance Committee ranking member Wyden ask GAO to investigate Elon Musk access to Treasury payment systems

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, the ranking members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance, respectively, have asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s decision to grant Elon Musk and other “Department of Government Efficiency” employees access to sensitive Treasury Department payment systems. The request frames the access as raising economic and national security risks and potential privacy concerns, given the scale and criticality of the systems. The letter highlights that the payment systems process trillions of dollars in transactions annually, including Social Security checks, tax refunds, and Medicare benefits, and that they are important to managing payments on the national debt. The Senators asked GAO to determine which specific systems were accessed, which individuals have access and whether they have appropriate clearances, and whether guardrails are in place to protect economic and national security and Americans’ privacy. It also raises questions about the circumstances surrounding the removal of Treasury’s top career official, David Lebryk, after he raised concerns, and about potential conflicts of interest, including X’s planned payments partnership with Visa and Tesla’s ties to China.