The system sent $5.4 trillion in payments last year.

People associated with Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” have been trying to access the U.S. government’s payment systems, according to a shocking new report from the Washington Post. And while it’s not clear why DOGE wants access, experts are alarmed because there’s basically no plausible explanation that doesn’t involve tinkering with critical government functions by sidestepping Congress.

The system is run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service and handles everything from Social Security and Medicare payments to salaries for federal employees. Literally “tens of thousands” of functions are paid through the system, according to the Post, including tax refunds. The system paid out about $5.4 trillion in the form of 1.3 billion payments last year.

  • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.worldEnglish
    28·
    14 hours ago

    the more likely motivation could very well have something to do with stopping payment on all kinds of congressionally mandated programs.

    Trump tried to stop spending on roughly $3 trillion in programs related to health care and housing assistance, among a host of others, immediately attracting lawsuits from state attorneys general. A federal judge in Washington D.C. put a halt to the freeze on Tuesday, but the obvious concern is that the U.S. court system doesn’t actually have an enforcement mechanism for rulings. Congress can write laws and the judiciary can issue orders, but the system only works if everyone agrees to abide by the rules. And if the executive branch under Trump and Musk can stop payments to programs they don’t like, ignoring entirely what Congress and the courts say, it’s game over for the country.

    • 667English
      9·
      10 hours ago

      There is a mechanism.

      Nobody discusses it in polite conversation.

    • Mog_fanatic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      9 hours ago

      Trump’s administration has made it abundantly clear that the are not stopping the freeze. This is directly from Trump’s press secretary after they rescinded the order

      This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.

      It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.

      Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction.

      The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.