Donald Trump has clarified the extent of Elon Musk’s influence after the Tesla CEO’s team was granted access to several highly sensitive financial databases.
This controversial decision allows Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, to review the federal payment system, which includes data on millions of Americans and public contractors.
Musk’s involvement comes as part of his new role as a ‘special government employee’ within Trump’s administration, where he leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
The DOGE initiative has been awarded ‘full access’ to this sensitive financial information by Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden noted that these databases include ‘social security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors… All of it’.
Access to this information has traditionally been restricted to a select few, leading to legal challenges as federal unions filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department on Monday (February 3) to block Musk’s access.
The unions argue that granting Musk access constitutes an unlawful disclosure of private data for millions of Americans, accusing Trump’s team of violating the Privacy Act and the Internal Revenue Code.
President Trump acknowledged the access granted to Musk but emphasized that Musk “can’t” do “anything without our approval.”
During the signing of new executive orders, Trump stated, “Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval. And we’ll give him the approval where appropriate. Where not appropriate, we won’t.”
This development follows Musk’s announcement that he and Trump are working to dismantle the foreign aid agency USAid.
With around 10,000 employees, USAid stands as the world’s largest single donor of humanitarian aid, having disbursed over $40 billion globally in 2023.
The decision on USAid’s spending is made by Congress, focusing primarily on international aid and support for global charities.
Funds from USAid support initiatives such as women’s health in conflict areas, clean water access, and HIV/AIDS treatment.
Musk commented, “It’s [USAid] beyond repair. He [Trump] agreed we should shut it down.”
He further stated, “It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm it in. What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing.”
While Trump could significantly reduce USAid’s operations through executive orders, completely shutting it down would likely require Congressional support.
USAid was established as an independent agency by Congress in 1998, originally created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy.