Elon Musk now has full access to the government’s payment system, thanks to Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. CNN’s Jake Tapper wants to know, “Why is he being given this access?”
“Trump wants to effectively shrink the size of government and make policy changes. Fine, but how?” Tapper said on Monday’s “The Lead.” “We’re not getting any transparency and there isn’t any accountability. We don’t know exactly what Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is doing as he heads DOGE, the new Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with slimming down the size of government.”
Watch Tapper’s CNN segment below:
Tapper sounded the alarm that the payment system includes “your Social Security benefits, your tax refunds and payments to federal workers and contractors having up to more than $5 trillion a year.”
He then played a clip of Trump answering the question from one reporter, “Why is it important for Elon Musk to have access to the payment systems at the Treasury?”
Trump replied, “Well, he’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good — if we agree with him, and it’s only if we agree with him. He’s a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs, and we put him in charge of seeing what he could do with certain groups and certain numbers.”
Tapper mocked Trump’s vagueness of the “certain groups and certain numbers” non-answer, wondering if that applies to Veteran Affairs psychologists and National Institute of Health cancer researchers.
“What we have seen so far is an ax being brandished and swung recklessly,” Tapper added.
Watch the clip above.
