Scott Bessent has given DOGE access to the Treasury payment system.
Posted by Bulwark Takes, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
Bulwark TakesAug 21, 2026
As of 2026-08-21, the record shows Bessent personally authorized DOGE access to a Treasury payment system on January 31, 2025, per a congressional press release and contemporaneous reporting. Treasury's 'read-only' characterization and the later GAO findings about improper access concern the scope of that access, not whether it was granted.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Lego Batman movie aside, apparently this is a great artistic work, and I should, I should not denigrate it. Um, at least Casablanca, at least Mnuchin guided Trump away from some of his worst impulses, and that is not at all what we see from Besen, not only through, like, what may well be an abuse of power in this situation, but other things, like, you know, giving Doje access to the Treasury payment system and trying to come up with this deal between DHS and the IRS to share tax records with immigration agents. Like, there are a whole bunch of really bad things that Besen has done aside from this, and that I didn't, I didn't appreciate. …
Bulwark Takes · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. A 2026 DelBene press release states that Secretary Bessent personally granted DOGE access to a Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment system on January 31, 2025, citing a GAO-reviewed record.[3]
Supports. A February 2025 TechCrunch report, citing Senator Wyden's office and the New York Times, says Bessent authorized DOGE access to the Treasury payment system on Friday (January 31).[4]
Supports. The Prospect reports that Bessent granted DOGE agents access to the federal payments system on January 31, after ousting a Treasury official who had refused.[5]
Supports. 2026 letters from Warren and Wyden say Treasury, under Bessent's leadership, gave a DOGE employee improper access to the Fiscal Service payment systems in early 2025, which confirms the access occurred.[6][7]
Context. Treasury told Congress the DOGE-linked staff had only read-only access, and Bessent later said so; this disputes the extent of access, not that access was granted.[1][8]
Context. The Reuters ruling piece concerns whether a court order applied to Bessent, not whether he granted access, so it does not contradict the claim.[2]
Sources
8 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 5 not rated
- 1Treasury tells Congress that DOGE has 'Read Only' access ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Order blocking Musk's DOGE from Treasury systems doesn't apply to Bessent, judge saysreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3DelBene Grills Treasury Secretary on Exposing Financial ...delbene.house.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Senator warns of national security risks after Elon Musk's DOGE ...techcrunch.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Why Haven't House Democrats Moved to Impeach Scott Bessent?prospect.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Warren, Wyden Probe Secretary Bessent on DOGE Access ...business.cch.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7[PDF] July 21, 2026 The Honorable Scott Bessent Secretary Department of ...fedscoop.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8Bessent: DOGE Effort Has Saved Estimated $50 Billion Thus Farcpapracticeadvisor.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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