Larson Statement on Retirement of Career Treasury Official After Clash with Elon Musk

“What Americans are witnessing is an ongoing dictatorial purge across the federal government,” said Larson. “In addition to firings at the Department of Justice and the FBI, the Treasury Department’s highest-ranking, nonpartisan, long-serving, and highly respected public servant left on his own will…because he refused to succumb to Elon Musk’s demands to grant his cronies access to the sensitive system of federal payments and its information. This incident only further underscores the Trump Administration’s directive to rid career nonpartisan officials…so the billionaire class, unimpeded, can dictate how government will be run in this Administration. 

“Today’s unprecedented actions to oust honest, nonpartisan public servants who carry out the work of the American people will not go unnoticed by Congress and the people we represent,” Larson continued. “We are calling on Republicans, who control both chambers, to denounce these actions for what they are: a power grab.” 

Today, the Washington Post reported that David Lebryk, the highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department, is retiring after clashing with allies of Elon Musk over access to Treasury’s payment systems. Millions of Americans depend on Treasury’s payment systems for critical payments like their Social Security and Medicare benefits, tax refunds, and federal employee salaries. The systems also handle payments for federal grants and government contractors.