Private Influence on Public Finance

In a week of unprecedented action (and chaos) from both Elon Musk and the Trump administration, breaking news this weekend brought the Elon, Inc. team together for an emergency episode. The New York Times broke the news, and the Washington Post followed, that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was given access to the Treasury Department’s payment system. This system, which handles a big chunk of the government’s money transfers, including Social Security, is normally administered by a small number of non-political appointees, and it was reported that Musk’s desire to get in the gears drove a career Treasury official out of the department late this week.

This is a big deal. Musk has many apparent conflicts of interest, and beyond the finances, this is where sensitive information about American citizens is stored. To discuss this development, host Max Chafkin is joined by Sarah Frier, Big Tech editor; Kurt Wagner, social media reporter; and Dana Hull, who covers Musk for Bloomberg News.

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