Donald Trump's awkward response to Elon Musk after being granted access to sensitive government financial databases
Donald Trump has set the record straight on the powers his pal Elon Musk actually has after the Tesla boss' team were given access to some of the most sensitive financial databases.
The controversial move has seen the world's richest man able to cast his eyes over the federal payment system which includes the data of millions of people across the US as well as public contractors.
It's all part of Musk's shiny new role as a 'special government employee' in Trump's administration, which sees him head up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
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DOGE has reportedly been granted 'full access' to the sensitive financial data by Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with Democratic Senator Ron Wyden explaining that this includes 'social security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors... All of it'.
The information inside these databases has previously only ever been opened up to a select few, and it seems to have sparked legal trouble as federal unions sued the Treasury Department to block Musk's access on Monday (February 3).
The unions are alleging that the move to let Musk have access is unlawful disclosure of millions of Americans' private data, accusing the team of violating the Privacy Act and the Internal Revenue Code.
That same day, President Trump confirmed the tech billionaire had indeed been granted access to the Treasury Department’s critical payment system, but did make it clear that Musk 'can't' do 'anything without our approval'.
Speaking to press as he signed a slew of new executive orders, Trump said: "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."
It comes after Musk declared that he and Trump would be working towards pulling the curtain down on foreign aid agency USAid.
The organization - which has around 10,000 staff - is the world's largest single donor of humanitarian aid, having spent over $40 billion across the world in 2023.
USAid's spending is decided by Congress, and focuses mainly on providing aid overseas and supporting international charities.
Some of the money goes to the likes of women’s health in conflict zones, access to clean water, and HIV/AIDS treatment.
Musk said: "It’s [USAid] beyond repair. He [Trump] agreed we should shut it down."
The billionaire added: "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."
In terms of how feasible this would actually be, Trump may be able to massively downside USAid using executive orders, but he would likely need the support of Congress to actually shut it down altogether.
This is because Congress established USAid as an independent agency in 1998, having first been created in 1961 by John F. Kennedy.
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, Money
Chloe Rowland