Democrats, including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), held a press conference on Monday to rail against the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for reviewing payments made by the Department of the Treasury after Elon Musk was granted access to the payment system, which revealed questionable payments made by the U.S. government.
"The DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups. They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once," Musk wrote on X on Monday,
The senators accused Musk and DOGE of “abusing the Treasury’s payment system to illegally impound funds.”
Warren shot back, saying that the Democratic Party must do everything in its power to protect the American people from harm.
"Musk and his associates were granted access to the U.S. Treasury’s payment systems the same weekend they threatened their way into United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and seized Office of Personnel Management (OPM) computer systems,” a release announcing the press conference read.
No one elected Elon Musk.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 2, 2025
As Donald Trump allows Musk to access people’s personal information and shut down government funding, Republicans in Washington will also own the consequences.
We must do everything in our power to push back and protect people from harm.
Schumer said he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will introduce legislation to "stop unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department's payment systems." He claimed that DOGE, or, according to Schumer, "right-wing extremists," has no authority to do what it does within the department and called it "outlandishly dangerous" to give DOGE access to its payments.
"It's like putting a tiger into a petting zoo and then hoping for the best," Schumer continued.
Meanwhile, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said that it was "painfully clear" that after only two weeks in office, the Trump administration is the "most corrupt administration in our history."
She accused Musk of "falsely attacking faith-based organizations that help people" and of cutting off funds based on conspiracy theories.
I'll spare you the details, but the press conference spends the next 28 minutes attacking Musk and the Trump administration, repeatedly calling it the "most corrupt" administration the U.S. has seen.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member