David A. Lebryk had a decades-long career in Washington DC, where he was supposedly some nonpolitical actor for the Treasury Department. That’s what the media says, and when they say things like so-and-so was ‘independent, nonpartisan, or apolitical,’ that’s usually not the case. As we’ve seen since 2017, a lot of these ‘nonpolitical’ people are left-wing nutjobs, especially those at the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the intelligence community. So, the more we can force out, the better. With no election on the horizon, Trump can and will take a hatchet to the political establishment this time.
With Scott Bessent quickly confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury, Lebryk’s role at the department was no longer needed. He was acting head until Bessent’s takeover became official. Yet, the payment system from which the department allocates trillions of dollars daily was an area where he wasn’t willing to work with Elon Musk’s allies at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He decided to quit the government (via WaPo):
The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department left the agency after a clash with allies of billionaire Elon Musk over access to sensitive payment systems, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
David A. Lebryk, who served in nonpolitical roles at Treasury for several decades, announced his retirement Friday in an email to colleagues obtained by The Washington Post. President Donald Trump named Lebryk as acting secretary upon taking office last week. Lebryk had a dispute with Musk’s surrogates over access to the payment system the U.S. government uses to disburse trillions of dollars every year, the people said. The exact nature of the disagreement was not immediately clear, they said.
Officials affiliated with Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” have been asking since after the election for access to the system, the people said — requests that were reiterated more recently, including after Trump’s inauguration. Tom Krause, a Silicon Valley executive who has now been detailed to Treasury, is among those involved, the people said. Krause did not respond to requests for comment.
[…]
Typically only a small number of career officials control Treasury’s payment systems. Run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the sensitive systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to households, businesses and more nationwide. Tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people across the country rely on the systems, which are responsible for distributing Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to government contractors and grant recipients, and tax refunds, among tens of thousands of other functions.
[…]
The clash reflects an intensifying battle between Musk and the federal bureaucracy as the Trump administration nears the conclusion of its second week. Musk has sought to exert sweeping control over the inner workings of the U.S. government, installing longtime surrogates at several agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, which essentially handles federal human resources, and the General Services Administration, which manages real estate. (Musk was seen on Thursday visiting the GSA, according to two other people familiar with his whereabouts, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal matters.
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Good. Get more of them to quit, fellas.
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