Treasury Says Musk Aides Have 'Read Only' Access

In response to the furor over Elon Musk and his DOGE team being granted access to a sensitive system used by the Treasury Department to make federal payments, the department said Tuesday that Musk's aides were given "read-only" access similar to what an auditor would receive. CNN reports it's the department's first attempt to clarify the role of the DOGE aides. It came in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday night that also said:

• "The ongoing review of Treasury's systems is not resulting in the suspension or rejection of any payment instructions submitted to Treasury by other federal agencies across the government. In particular, the review at the Fiscal Service has not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed."

The letter also confirms for the first time that Tom Krause, a software CEO and Musk ally, is coordinating the review. Politico reports Krause, like Musk, has been named a "special government employee." Treasury says in its letter he has received top secret security clearance and is subject to federal ethics rules, and that he is being assisted by "veteran career Treasury officials, and all operational processes continue to be conducted only by career Treasury staff in accordance with all standard security, safety and privacy standards." (More Elon Musk stories.)