DOGE deputy to oversee powerful Treasury system as Musk demands cuts
Source: Washington Post
DOGE deputy to oversee powerful Treasury system as Musk demands cuts
The move follows the ousting of a career official who rebuffed attempts to use the payment system to stop federal spending.
Updated
February 7, 2025 at 3:31 p.m. EST today at 3:31 p.m. EST
(Sarah Silbiger for The Washington Post)
By Jacqueline Alemany, Jeff Stein and Yeganeh Torbati
The Treasury Department is appointing an ally of billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service to a senior position in the department overseeing the nation’s powerful payment systems, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect private deliberations. ... Tom Krause, a Silicon Valley executive with ties to DOGE, will become the fiscal assistant secretary of the Treasury Department, the people said. He replaces David A. Lebryk, who resigned after objecting to Krause’s demands to stop payments on foreign aid — a measure Lebryk resisted as illegal. ... Krause’s position will give him control over the Treasury Department system responsible for disbursing more than $5 trillion in annual payments, including for Social Security, Medicare, tax refunds and thousands of other items. Musk has demanded on social media that Treasury unilaterally stop sending these payments, accusing the department’s career staff of breaking the law.
The decision puts Musk’s DOGE — which stands for Department of Government Efficiency — in a potential position to make sweeping changes to the federal budget, with implications for tens of millions of Americans. The payment system, run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, contains sensitive taxpayer information, and some former Treasury officials have expressed concerns about granting access to individuals with private business interests. The move has also touched off broad alarm within the Treasury Department, the people said.
Beyond the payments system, Krause will oversee a broad range of vital Treasury Department functions, including auctions of U.S. debt, management of large-scale tech systems and handling of the federal debt limit. Congress has only a few months to lift the federal borrowing limit without disastrous consequences, and the section of Treasury now led by Krause will have to ensure that a global financial meltdown is not accidentally triggered.
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On Wednesday, Krause told employees that he would keep his job at Cloud Software Group even as he works at Treasury as a “special government employee,” according to an internal email provided by a company spokeswoman, Caitlin Russell. ... “Let me be clear — as CEO of Cloud Software Group, I am committed to our company and you, our employees,” Krause said in the email, which was first reported by the news outlet CRN. ... Shortly after Krause took over at Cloud Software Group, the company laid off 15 percent of its workforce, followed by an additional 12 percent cut a year later. The company announced a third round of cuts last month. ... Krause did not immediately respond to an email and voicemail requesting comment.
By Jacqueline Alemany
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jacqueline-alemany/
Jacqueline Alemany is a White House reporter for the Washington Post. Send her secure tips on Signal at JackieAlemany.23 follow on X@jaxalemany
By Jeff Stein
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jeff-stein/
Jeff Stein is the White House economics reporter for The Washington Post. He was a crime reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and, in 2014, founded the local news nonprofit the Ithaca Voice in Upstate New York. He was also a reporter for Vox.follow on X@jstein_wapo
By Yeganeh Torbati
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/yeganeh-torbati/
Yeganeh Torbati joined The Washington Post in 2020 as a reporter writing about the tax, budget, trade and regulatory decisions made by Washington’s power brokers. follow on X@yjtorbati
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/07/treasury-doge-payments-musk/
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