Five former U.S. Treasury secretaries have raised concerns about the Trump administration and Elon Musk's involvement in the Treasury Department, warning that recent actions could undermine U.S. financial commitments. The former secretaries—Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, Timothy Geithner, Jacob Lew, and Janet Yellen—penned an op-ed published in The New York Times, expressing alarm over potential unlawful interference with the Treasury's sensitive payment systems. These systems disburse over $5 trillion in federal funding annually.
The op-ed highlighted that members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team have gained access to these crucial payment systems. This access has sparked apprehension among the former secretaries, who served under Democratic administrations, about the potential for a breach of trust and a form of default. They emphasized that any selective suspension of congressionally authorized payments would severely damage the nation's financial credibility.
"We have during our service in the Treasury Department faced moments of crisis, when the specter of an American default loomed," wrote the five former secretaries.
"Any hint of the selective suspension of congressionally authorized payments will be a breach of trust and ultimately, a form of default. And our credibility, once lost, will prove difficult to regain," they added.
Despite these warnings, Kevin Hassett, a prominent economic advisor to President Donald Trump, dismissed the concerns voiced by the former secretaries. He described the notion that Elon Musk is acting as a "puppet master" at the Treasury Department as "poppycock," attributing such claims to left-wing media narratives.
"Let's just make it clear the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is in charge of the Treasury." – Kevin Hassett
"This idea that there's a puppet master telling the Treasury secretary what to do, and therefore all the Treasury secretaries need to be, like, alarmed, that's just left-wing media, you know, poppycock." – Kevin Hassett
Hassett also commented on the previous Biden administration's financial controls, describing them as "unacceptable." He pointed out issues related to unchecked disbursements and indicated that the current administration is working to rectify past discrepancies.
"has found that controls for spending of the previous [Biden] administration were unacceptable." – Kevin Hassett
"They didn't check before they sent the money out, whether it was appropriated," he added.
"And as we go in and look, we're finding lots of things that shouldn't have been sent." – Kevin Hassett
Emails obtained by The New York Times have seemingly contradicted the Treasury Department's rationale for granting access to Musk's team. Initially, Tom Krause from Musk's DOGE team was granted access ostensibly to provide technical assistance. However, these emails suggest other motivations might be at play.
While controversy surrounds Musk's role within the Treasury Department, Hassett confirmed Musk's proximity to key decision-makers.
"Elon Musk is in the office next to me," – Kevin Hassett