Elon Musk’s team has gotten access to the Treasury Department’s payments system.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave representatives of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency full access to the federal payment system late on Friday, according to three people familiar with the change, handing Elon Musk and the team he is leading a powerful tool to monitor and potentially limit government spending.
The new authority follows a standoff this week with a top Treasury official who had resisted allowing Mr. Musk’s lieutenants into the department’s payment system, which sends out money on behalf of the entire federal government. The official, a career civil servant named David Lebryk, was put on leave and then suddenly retired on Friday after the dispute, according to people familiar with his exit.
The system could give the Trump administration another mechanism to attempt to unilaterally restrict disbursement of money approved for specific purposes by Congress, a push that has faced legal roadblocks.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/01/us/trump-tariffs-news/treasury-department-payments-systemOpen linkView original on lemmy.ca
42 replies
This is a coup.
We should not allow them to finish what they are doing. We should all organize in DC under a plan. America will not survive this.
Let's just comment on some socmed forum until someone starts something. Maybe.
You got a plan then?
We had one coup attempt, yes, but what about second coup? Elevensies?
Elevenazis?
narrator: it was
It's been marching for 4+ years.
No. We elected this. It's not a coup sadly.
He was elected by voter suppression. It’s a coup, but a “legal” one that’s been in the works for years.
Umm someone should tell MAGA that an immigrant is taking over the government.
An African immigrant who overstayed his visa at that
An African Nazi immigrant who probably doesn't pay child support
Only the second and fourth words bother maga
Next up: Musk renames the Treasury Department "X".
Or even worse, X becomes the official payment processor for the US Government, forcing all employees and contractors into his platform.
Their money will be deposited into an X debit card.
Or he's going to force all payments to be in DOGE.
it is there http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/x-money-payment-service-coming-this-year-xchat-in-development/ar-AA1y589c?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1
Don’t forget that Trump gets to nominate the next Comptroller in December to a 15 year term that Presidents cannot control. The only manner to get rid of a comptroller is via impeachment.
All the conservative were afraid of the United States going bankrupt that they never thought they’d be the ones bankrupting the country.
Stop this thinking right now
They don't care. They only cared about the country going bankrupt when Democrats had the White House. Go back through any bill debate to raise the debt ceiling and you'll hear nothing about "uncontrolled spending" from Republicans.
Their voters don't care. They see "a return to traditional values" because they can now dead name trans people and start saying the n word.
We crossed the Rubicon. We are entering fascism.
No notes!
...except, well, it would be nice if the truth didn't sting so damn much.
Never thought.
Its OK if all the money is going to them.
In all seriousness, there is still a wing worried about national debt and oldschool free trade, but they are completely suppressed now. See this comment on the tariffs:
https://www.axios.com/2025/01/31/trump-tariffs-senate-china-canada-mexico
Conservatives be like
Hate to say it, but a violent revolution might be necessary. God help us.
You guys are so fucked.
It's not looking good, to say the least.
So this is how he will finally get his bonus package. The us is well fucked at this stage. Only a month in.
Uh... this is day 12. Feels like 12 thousand years though.
Government is his personal money printer now huh?
Why not take out the middle man? All his wealth is due to government subsidies, now he doesn't even have to run a business to get the money any more.
The markets on Monday are not going to be happy about this.
Are you kidding? They love this, as it's mostly driven by short term hype. Tax cuts for the rich are coming, and Musk is hype.
Long term financial stability of the US government is not a concern, I bet the bond market won't even budge much.
Nah, this is like Liz Truss' mini budget on a grander scale. The bond markets will react.
Where's a Luigi when we need one?
If I were evil and had physical access to these payment systems I'd start by doing the obvious of changing passwords and install backdoors so I'd have permanent access. Then I think I'd start encrypting the database of payees to guarantee complete irreversable control over who gets paid.
But I'm not evil and don't have access, just playing devil's advocate.
Elon Musk has to go.
Does this also give them access to know who donated to what parties? If so, it’s probably so that they can make a list to jail people like me that donated the other party that isn’t Tromp.
Your political donations are a matter of public record. Unless you are an oligarch
Isn't this public info already that is on the FEC website?
I have no idea. I’ve never donated before this past year. Where would I check that?
Good luck.