U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, and a group of fellow senators published a letter Wednesday demanding immediate hearings to discuss reports of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency’s gaining access to the U.S. Treasury payment systems.
The letter was addressed to Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, chairs of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Banking Committee, respectively.
The letter highlights concerns with the security of the country’s largest payment system and the possibility of formerly approved payments being blocked after the brief federal loan and grant freeze last week.
“The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion in annual payments to households, businesses and other entities nationwide,” the group of senators wrote. “Putting this system in the hands of unaccountable political actors raises significant economic and national security risks.”
Cantwell released her own statement concerning the reports earlier this week.
“We need to know why they want to access the system, what they intend to do with our data, and whether there are any safeguards in place,” Cantwell wrote in a Sunday news release.
“This threatens the privacy and funds owed to every American taxpayer and Social Security recipient.”
Musk has been tasked by Trump with eliminating waste in the federal government.
