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Musk's Department of Government Efficiency

Treasury official retires after clash with DOGE over access to payment system

Longtime official retires after clash "over access to sensitive payment systems."

Jon Brodkin – | 784
A logo with a cartoon dog, the word "DOGE," and the phrase "Department of Government Efficiency."
An image posted by Elon Musk after President-elect Donald Trump announced he will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency—or "DOGE." Credit: Elon Musk
An image posted by Elon Musk after President-elect Donald Trump announced he will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency—or "DOGE." Credit: Elon Musk

A longtime Treasury Department official is leaving his job after a dispute with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has reportedly been seeking access to federal payment systems.

"The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department is departing after a clash with allies of billionaire Elon Musk over access to sensitive payment systems," The Washington Post reported today, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The departing official is Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk, who has served in nonpolitical Treasury Department roles during his career of more than 30 years. President Donald Trump named Lebryk the acting secretary of the Treasury, an additional role he held for a week before political appointee Scott Bessent was confirmed by the Senate. But Lebryk "announced his retirement Friday in an email to colleagues obtained by The Washington Post," the newspaper reported.

"Lebryk had a dispute with Musk's surrogates over access to the payment system the US government uses to disburse trillions of dollars every year... Officials affiliated with Musk's 'Department of Government Efficiency' have been asking since after the election for access to the system," and those requests "were reiterated more recently, including after Trump's inauguration," the Post reported.

We asked for comment from the Treasury Department and DOGE today and will update this article if we get any response.

System run by “small number of career officials”

The Post said it was "unclear precisely why Musk's team sought access to those systems." But when Trump announced the creation of DOGE in November, he said it would "pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

The Treasury payment systems, run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, are usually controlled by "only a small number of career officials," the Post wrote. The Fiscal Service collects and disburses trillions of dollars. In the email announcing his retirement, Lebryk told the department's staff, "Our work may be unknown to most of the public, but that doesn't mean it isn't exceptionally important."

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Mark Mazur, who was a Treasury official during the Obama and Biden administrations, told the Post that the payment systems shouldn't be used for political purposes.

"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 was quoted as saying. "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."

The Trump administration previously issued an order to freeze funding for a wide range of government programs, but rescinded the order after two days of protest and a judge's ruling that temporarily blocked the funding freeze.

Trump ordered cooperation with DOGE

The Trump executive order establishing DOGE took the existing United States Digital Service and renamed it the United States DOGE Service. It's part of the Executive Office of the President and is tasked with "modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."

Trump's order said that federal agencies will have to collaborate with DOGE. "Among other things, the USDS Administrator shall work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization," the order said. "Agency Heads shall take all necessary steps, in coordination with the USDS Administrator and to the maximum extent consistent with law, to ensure USDS has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems. USDS shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards."

The Post writes that "Musk has sought to exert sweeping control over the inner workings of the US government, installing longtime surrogates at several agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, which essentially handles federal human resources, and the General Services Administration."

On Thursday, Musk visited the General Services Administration headquarters in Washington, DC, The New York Times reported. The Department of Government Efficiency's account on X stated earlier this week that the GSA had "terminated three leases of mostly empty office space" for a savings of $1.6 million and that more cuts are planned. In another post, DOGE claimed it "is saving the Federal Government approx. $1 billion/day, mostly from stopping the hiring of people into unnecessary positions, deletion of DEI and stopping improper payments to foreign organizations, all consistent with the President's Executive Orders."

"Mr. Musk's visit to the General Services Administration could presage more cost-cutting efforts focused on federal real estate," the Times wrote. "The agency also plays a role in federal contracting and in providing technology services across the federal government."

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Jon Brodkin Senior IT Reporter
Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry.
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