Posted on 02/07/2025 8:48:51 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday addressed the "misinformation" being circulated about the work the Department of Government Efficiency is doing.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Bessent said he vetted the Treasury employees tasked with accessing federal payment data, noting they have read-only access and are not “tinkering” with payment systems in any way.
“It is an operational review. It is not an ideological review,” Bessent told Saleha Mohsin, according to Bloomberg. “The ability to change the system sits over at the Federal Reserve. We don’t even run the system.”
He further emphasized that “this is not some roving band running around doing things,” but those assisting Elon Musk are “highly trained professionals.”
“This is methodical and it is going to yield big savings,” he said.
“I believe that this DOGE program, in my adult life, is one of the most important audits of government, or changes to government structure, that we have seen," Bessent added.
The interview comes after a Treasury official wrote to lawmakers on Tuesday addressing concerns raised from some members.
A Treasury Department official wrote a letter Tuesday 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.
The official sent the letter out of concerns from members of Congress that DOGE’s involvement with the payment system for the federal government could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Lawmakers are also concerned that Musk, an unelected citizen, wields too much power within the U.S. government and states blatantly on his social media platform that DOGE will shut down payments to organizations.
DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations, has raised concerns about its intentions and overruling of career officials at multiple agencies. Democratic lawmakers have voiced frustration over the lack of transparency and public accountability, saying that Musk’s people might illegally withhold payments to suit their political agenda.
The Treasury official said that the ongoing “review” has “not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed.” (AP)
Scott Bessent on DOGE:
“There’s a lot of misinformation. These are Treasury employees [working with DOGE]. There’s no tinkering with the system, they have read-only access, can make no changes.”
But… AOC and Elizabeth Warren said they’re stealing my grandma’s social security? pic.twitter.com/6PgZnIx1OY— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) February 6, 2025
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he personally vetted the Treasury employees on Elon Musk’s government efficiency team with read-only access to federal payment data, and that there’s been no “tinkering” with the department’s payment systems https://t.co/GVcKcsTBdM pic.twitter.com/NoGilX9kSR— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) February 6, 2025
Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sets the record straight on Democrats’ false claims on DOGE.
Democrats are melting down over nothing. Don’t fall for it.
Host: "Right now there is widespread concern about the DOGE team's access to sensitive payment systems…”
Scott: : "Absolutely not."Host: "If they request the ability to change the system, would you grant that?"
Scott: "No. Again, they have no ability to change the system."
Host: "Do you know what kind of access the team has to IRS data or individual taxpayer data?"
Scott: "There is no engagement at the IRS." pic.twitter.com/Aw5LHhE00b— Media Lies (@MediasLies) February 7, 2025
Obviously, all they need is read-only access. Which is infinitely more than any outsider has had to date.
He is correct my friend, DODGE is an advisory to the president that’s it. The president gets the info and makes the decision. The idiots screaming in the streets are just that and the rat party elderly like Schumer and waters gin them up. They know it and they are scared sh##less. Im lovin it!
Anyone hear of any word on when they’ll (Hopefully) release all of the data, numbers and names for all of this work?
We know we were getting ripped off. It’s time to find out how much and by whom.
You’re seeing what had to be said after dumbassery in the media and the left thought they knew what was happening.
You can bet those systems will not bear up to scrutiny of any kind
The how much will be incomprehensible by average Americans, the by who will be unsurprising to most Americans. It will be the Trump administration’s task to properly focus the anger of the public and then fix the problem.
Jesse Waters: “Democrats get edgy and are gung ho to
audit taxpayers for making a $600 Venmo mobile app payment.”
“But when Musk audits $trillion dollar govt outlays,
Dems go ballistic and are ready to eat Trump alive.”
The facts are these; the government’s been robbing us blind.
<><>writing checks for tourism in Egypt,
<><>tax dollars to the BBC to finance diversity in Libya,
<><>tax dollars financing an Iraqi Sesame Street,
<><>tax dollars financing an Armenian LGBTQ group,
<><>tax dollars for a DEI Irish musical,
<><>your taxes used for Guatemalan trans surgeries.
The confused govt calls the billions they sent “aid,”
but look whose hands that money really ends up in.
Well, I did find this while going down YouTube rabbit holes:
I wonder if there’ll be an app soon...
There are something like one hundred thousand NGOs out there.
A large number of them receive federal funds directly or indirectly.
A large number of them are guilty of waste, fraud, abuse and just good old fashioned evil.
This is like counting stars in the galaxy.
oh no
the executive branch is auditing the executive branch
“ But… AOC and Elizabeth Warren said they’re stealing my grandma’s social security? ”
We all know it already, 042-68-4425.
EC
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