Treasury, Congress watchdogs launch audits into DOGE access to payment system
Two government watchdogs have launched audits into the new Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to a sensitive federal payment system located at the Treasury Department.
The Treasury’s Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) told senators this week they are looking into DOGE employees’ access to the system, which handles 90 percent of federal payments.
Treasury Deputy Inspector General Loren Sciurba said Thursday that the agency watchdog initiated an audit on Feb. 6 into the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which manages the sensitive payment system.
The audit aims to evaluate the “adequacy of controls” granting and restricting access to the system and ensuring payments are made in accordance with laws and regulations, Sciurba said in a letter to several Democratic senators who had voiced concerns.
The Treasury Department inspector general will also “follow up on any allegations of improper or fraudulent payments.”
Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE’s wide-ranging push to slash government spending, alleged last week that there is rampant fraud in the entitlement payments disbursed by the Treasury Department.
“We expect to begin our fieldwork immediately,” Sciurba said. “Given the breadth of this effort, the audit will likely not be completed until August; however, we recognize the danger that improper access or inadequate controls can pose to the integrity of sensitive payment systems.”
“As such, if critical issues come to light before that time, we will issue interim updates and reports,” he added.
The GAO also said in a letter to Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Wednesday that it had accepted their request to investigate DOGE employees’ “unprecedented access” to the Treasury Department payment system.
The congressional watchdog said it plans to conduct “one body of audit work and issue multiple reports, if needed.”
The DOGE team sought access to the sensitive payment system last month but was initially rebuffed by a longtime Treasury Department official, who was later placed on leave and resigned.
Two DOGE-affiliated employees ultimately received access to the system — tech executive Tom Krause and 25-year-old Marko Elez.
Both were meant to receive read-only access to the system, meaning they would not be able to make any changes. Elez, however, was “mistakenly” given read-and-write privileges to one part of the system for a brief period of time, according to a court filing earlier this week.
Treasury Department staff revoked the additional permissions once it was discovered, and Elez never took advantage of the write privileges to make any changes, said Joseph Gioeli III, a deputy commissioner at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
Elez resigned last week after The Wall Street Journal uncovered several racist social media posts he made from a now-deleted account. Despite Musk's vow to rehire him after vocal support from Vice President Vance, there is no indication yet that Elez has rejoined DOGE or the Treasury Department.
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