Elon Musk's control of a federal payment system is raising concerns about funding for programs like Social Security and the safety of personal data.

A Treasury Department official has written a letter to federal lawmakers saying that a tech executive working with Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” will have “read-only access” to the government’s payment system.

A powerful group of unions has declared war on the US Treasury Department, filing a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E)

The U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday that Elon Musk's government-efficiency team has been granted "read-only access" to its payment system codes but denied that this cut off any government payments including for Social Security or Medicare.

The department said that no payments would be interrupted and that it was conducting a review of the integrity of the system.

Nothing to see here, just a 'special government employee' doing his job The US Treasury Department has assured Congress that a "special government employee" associated with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has just "read-only" access to vital federal government payment systems that disburse trillions of dollars annually.

The US Treasury said Tuesday that Elon Musk's government reform team can read data from its highly sensitive payment system but not alter it.

In response to the furor over Elon Musk and his DOGE team being granted access to a sensitive system used by the Treasury Department to make federal payments, the department said Tuesday that Musk's aides were given "read-only" access similar to what an auditor would receive.