Senate Democrats press Treasury over DOGE access to federal payment systems

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Senate Democrats press DOGE access

Highlights

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden requested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent detail possible improper DOGE employee access to Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment systems in early 2025.
Government Accountability Office found Treasury failed to maintain required controls, with one DOGE employee able to view, delete, and alter sensitive Treasury financial information.
The Bureau of the Fiscal Service processes nearly 90% of all federal payments with 1.2 billion transactions annually, so improper access poses significant risks to payment integrity and the U.S. economy.

Treasury access questions and congressional demands

As reported by the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, U.S. Senate, citing the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent seeking information on the extent to which the department gave two Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, employees improper access to Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment systems in early 2025.

The lawmakers said recent Government Accountability Office findings indicate Treasury failed to maintain required controls over access to the systems. They said one DOGE employee did not agree to follow Treasury IT security rules and that the department was unable to detect improper payment information transmissions.

Warren and Wyden said that employee could view sensitive Treasury financial information and, for a short period, also had the ability to delete information and introduce inaccuracies into the system. They added that a separate DOGE employee received what they described as over-the-shoulder access, allowing that person to request payment system data from bureau staff even without direct system access.

Risks to payment integrity and broader economic impact

The senators said the Bureau of the Fiscal Service handles nearly 90% of all federal payments, facilitates more than 1.2 billion transactions a year, and stores sensitive personal information belonging to Americans. They warned that any disruption to the system or its contents could carry severe consequences for the economy.

In their letter, the ranking members argued that access to Treasury payment systems is tightly restricted because most federal agencies rely on the bureau's platforms to process payments. They requested written responses from Bessent so Congress can assess the full extent of the improper access and any threats posed to federal payment operations and data security.

In our earlier article, we examined Senator Mark Warner’s pushback against Trump Media & Technology Group’s planned Truth API, a paid service offering select financial firms faster access to posts from President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account. We noted concerns that selling earlier visibility into potentially market-moving communications could create information asymmetry and raise questions about private financial benefit from government-linked information.

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