Top Treasury official quits as Musk allies seek to control Social Security, Medicare payments

31 January

Allies of billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk are reportedly attempting to gain control of the U.S. Treasury's payment systems that handle roughly $6 trillion in payments every year. Now, the top career official at the Treasury Department is resigning.

That's according to a Friday article in the Washington Post, which reported that surrogates of Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency," or "DOGE" (which is not yet an official government agency authorized by Congress) are now aiming to control the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS). The BFS oversees payment systems that make trillions of dollars in payments annually to households and businesses, as well as to Americans receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits.

David A. Lebryk, who President Donald Trump appointed as acting Treasury secretary after taking office, suddenly retired following an apparent "dispute" with Musk's associates. After Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was confirmed by the U.S. Senate earlier this week, Lebryk stepped out of the acting secretary role, though he still remained at the Treasury Department until Friday.

Lebryk's retirement announcement came after decades of service in the Treasury Department under presidents of both parties and 11 different Treasury secretaries. DOGE officials have reportedly been trying to control the BFS' payment systems since after Trump's election victory, and doubled down on those requests after Trump's inauguration. Lebryk's departure was described as a "shock" to Treasury Department employees, who said he had a "sterling" reputation at the agency.

“Please know that your work makes a difference and is so very important to the country. It has been an honor to work alongside you," Lebryk wrote in an email to colleagues. “Our work may be unknown to most of the public, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exceptionally important.”

BFS' payment systems made more than 1.3 billion payments totaling roughly $5.4 trillion in fiscal year 2023 alone, according to the Post, with every payment made on time. Mark Mazur, who was a senior Treasury Department official under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, said attempts to seize control of the BFS for political purposes is unprecedented.

“This is a mechanical job — they pay Social Security benefits, they pay vendors, whatever. It’s not one where there’s a role for nonmechanical things, at least from the career standpoint. Your whole job is to pay the bills as they’re due,” Mazur told the Post. “It’s never been used in a way to execute a partisan agenda... You have to really put bad intentions in place for that to be the case.”

Click here to read the Post's report in full (subscription required).

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