WASHINGTON – Elon Musk and his aides have taken control of the US Treasury Department’s payments system, triggering a lawsuit charging he is illegally getting access to private data of millions of Americans. 

Musk, the world’s richest person, is leading president Donald Trump’s federal cost-cutting efforts under the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

The suit calls on a federal judge to declare it illegal for Musk or others from DOGE to get personal information about taxpayers, and to block the Treasury Department from letting that happen. 

“People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his ‘DOGE’,” read a lawsuit filed in Washington by labour unions and a grassroots advocacy group. “And federal law says they do not have to.” 

Musk said Monday in a post on X, the social media platform he owns, that the “only way to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money is to follow the payment flows, and pause suspicious transactions for review.” 

“Naturally, this causes those who have been aiding, abetting and receiving fraudulent payments to become very upset. Too bad,” he added. 

The Treasury’s closely-guarded payments’ system handles the money flow of the US government, including US$6 trillion annually for Social Security, Medicare, federal salaries and other critical payments. 

Musk’s control of the payments system was approved by incoming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and was made possible when a career official was put on administrative leave Friday after refusing to hand over access, according to the lawsuit. 

The official subsequently retired from the department, a source close to the matter told AFP and the lawsuit confirmed. Bessent’s granting access of personal Treasury information to DOGE-affiliated individuals means “individuals from all walks of life have no assurance that their information will receive the protection that federal law affords,” the lawsuit argued. 

Wired magazine reported that Musk has placed young surrogates working for DOGE into key government positions, with his team gaining unprecedented access to the payment systems typically restricted to career employees. 

The staff members, reportedly aged between 19 and 24, were also placed at the federal Office of Personnel Management, the human resources’ department for federal workers. – Nampa/AFP