“US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Thursday allowed ‘read only’ access to two ‘special government employees’ tied to Musk’s group. The specific constraints of the order, although in place only temporarily, marked the first time a judge has placed limits on the Tesla CEO’s actions on behalf of Sphincter.
“Still, trillions of dollars of federal payments flow through Treasury every year, and Musk’s access has already given the entrepreneur visibility into sensitive information about taxpayers, beneficiaries, contractors and employees — all of which he could make use of in the private sector. Members of Congress, federal employee unions and privacy advocates have exploded in anger at the access given him, citing unprecedented conflicts of interest.
“For his part, Bessent contends there’s been no ‘tinkering’ with the department’s payment systems. And while he is more on board with Musk’s mission than has been widely understood, the world’s richest man and his brazen cost-cutting tactics are nevertheless starting to irk Republican lawmakers.
“A group of roughly half a dozen GOP senators reached out privately to the White House to object to Musk’s accessing of Treasury systems, according to people familiar with the conversations. The senators indicated that the moves went beyond DOGE’s stated mission to save the government money.”