A Central Coast representative is reacting to the Trump Administration's latest move—allowing tech executives to have “read-only” access to the government’s payment system.
The administration’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” co-led by tech executive Elon Musk, is meant to conduct a government-wide audit to make sure federal spending aligns with the administration’s agenda. The group's access to the government’s payment system has concerned many Democratic leaders across the nation, including Central Coast congressman Salud Carbajal.
“This means all your privacy—your income tax returns, any relationship that we all have with the federal government—whether it's Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, grant programs for local governments, everything that affects our daily lives, the data about our personal lives is now in the hands of this billionaire,” Carbajal said.
The Department of Treasury said the access and review of the payment system will not result in federal funding delays, according to Politico.
But, Carbajal is worried Musk and other billionaires attached to this department will use the information for self-serving political interests that could negatively affect underrepresented communities like LGBTQ+ people, women and people of color.
“We are demanding information from the Treasury Department, what kind of access, who has had access, who has control and custody of the access that has been provided, because these individuals are going to go after individuals that they disagree with politically.”
