How Elon Musk's access to the Treasury system could affect your Social Security benefits?

The United States of America appears to be being governed in a way that has never happened before.

Whilst President Donald Trump is the man in power, there is a huge amount of mystery over what Elon Musk has got access to, a man that the US people did not elect to office.

Musk has been put in charge of the new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE) and he has access to a federal system responsible for $6 trillion in annual payments.

In the past 10 years, Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have received more than $15bn in government contracts, meaning there is a serious fear that a major conflict of interest is ongoing.

It was recently reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted access to the federal payment system to DOGE. This department is tasked with finding ways to reduce federal spending and increase the efficiency of the government.

Naturally, there are fears over what a character like Musk could choose to do with the Social Security system.

“Millions of Americans rely on these systems for Social Security checks, Medicare benefits, federal salaries, grants and tax refunds,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., posted Monday on X, calling the move “extraordinarily dangerous.”

“It all depends on what they [at DOGE] think is efficient and what isn’t efficient,” said Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy at the national committee.

“These programs are the lifelines of millions of people and seniors with disabilities throughout the country,” he said.

What does the White House say?

A White House official recently tried to set people’s minds at ease.

“All DOGE is looking to do is restructure the payment system to reflect the President’s goals and his mission, especially regarding the executive orders,” the White House official said.

“Any payments going for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, those are not at odds with the president’s executive order,” the official said. “Any assertion otherwise is just a lie.”