Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday addressed the "misinformation" being circulated about the work the Department of Government Efficiency is doing.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Bessent said he vetted the Treasury employees tasked with accessing federal payment data, noting they have read-only access and are not “tinkering” with payment systems in any way.
“It is an operational review. It is not an ideological review,” Bessent told Saleha Mohsin, according to Bloomberg. “The ability to change the system sits over at the Federal Reserve. We don’t even run the system.”
He further emphasized that “this is not some roving band running around doing things,” but those assisting Elon Musk are “highly trained professionals.”
“This is methodical and it is going to yield big savings,” he said.
“I believe that this DOGE program, in my adult life, is one of the most important audits of government, or changes to government structure, that we have seen," Bessent added.
The interview comes after a Treasury official wrote to lawmakers on Tuesday addressing concerns raised from some members.
A Treasury Department official wrote a letter Tuesday to federal lawmakers saying that a tech executive working with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will have “read-only access” to the government’s payment system.
The official sent the letter out of concerns from members of Congress that DOGE’s involvement with the payment system for the federal government could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Lawmakers are also concerned that Musk, an unelected citizen, wields too much power within the U.S. government and states blatantly on his social media platform that DOGE will shut down payments to organizations.
DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations, has raised concerns about its intentions and overruling of career officials at multiple agencies. Democratic lawmakers have voiced frustration over the lack of transparency and public accountability, saying that Musk’s people might illegally withhold payments to suit their political agenda.
The Treasury official said that the ongoing “review” has “not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed.” (AP)
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Scott Bessent on DOGE:
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) February 6, 2025
“There’s a lot of misinformation. These are Treasury employees [working with DOGE]. There’s no tinkering with the system, they have read-only access, can make no changes.”
But… AOC and Elizabeth Warren said they’re stealing my grandma’s social security? pic.twitter.com/6PgZnIx1OY
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he personally vetted the Treasury employees on Elon Musk’s government efficiency team with read-only access to federal payment data, and that there’s been no “tinkering” with the department’s payment systems https://t.co/GVcKcsTBdM pic.twitter.com/NoGilX9kSR
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) February 6, 2025
Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sets the record straight on Democrats’ false claims on DOGE.
— Media Lies (@MediasLies) February 7, 2025
Democrats are melting down over nothing. Don’t fall for it.
Host: "Right now there is widespread concern about the DOGE team's access to sensitive payment systems…”
Scott:… pic.twitter.com/Aw5LHhE00b
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