Four days after Donald Trump’s inauguration, there was a request made by Elon Musk’s top lieutenants at the Treasury Department to shut off all USAID payments using the department’s payment processing system. This request was unusual for the Treasury Department and prompted a skeptical response from the acting Treasury secretary at the time, David Lebryk. Lebryk expressed concerns about the legality of stopping authorized payments certified by an agency and suggested a different approach involving the State Department.
The email exchange between Treasury officials revealed a clash between political appointees loyal to Musk and career civil servants. The controversy surrounding this issue led to Lebryk's sudden departure from government service after more than 35 years at Treasury.
The situation raised questions about the extent to which Trump and Musk could influence federal spending. The emails also shed light on efforts to use the Treasury Department to control grant funding opposed by Trump and Musk, particularly from USAID towards developing foreign nations.
The controversy highlighted an office within Treasury called the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, responsible for processing over a billion payments totaling more than $5 trillion annually. The access granted to Musk's deputy at Treasury was eventually restricted to 'read-only' with the payment systems.
The administration's plan involved pausing outgoing USAID payments for assessment by the State Department to ensure compliance with Trump's directives. The Health Systems Strengthening program at USAID, which primarily funded health projects in developing countries, was affected by this pause due to Trump's executive order.
Despite initial resistance from Treasury officials, the access granted to DOGE affiliates at Treasury was eventually limited to 'read-only' after conflicting reports about the extent of their access. The Justice Department confirmed in court that the DOGE affiliates did not have the ability to make changes to the Treasury payments system.
