Who is David A. Lebryk? Treasury official steps down after alleged clash with Elon Musk’s DOGE

David A. Lebryk, a top-ranking official in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, resigned on January 31, 2025, after allegedly clashing with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to The New York Times, Lebryk refused to give DOGE access to the U.S. government's payment system.

Lebryk worked in the Treasury Department for more than 30 years and was appointed Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, the department's seniormost position, in 2014.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's official website, David A. Lebryk graduated with an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

According to The New York Times, Lebryk was put on administrative leave because he refused to give the billionaire's surrogates sensitive information.

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Why did David A. Lebryk and Elon Musk clash?

David A. Lebryk, Fiscal Assistant Secretary at Treasury, in his office on May 17 in Washington, DC. (Image via Getty)

According to The Washington Post, Elon Musk's surrogates have requested access to the payment system since the election, and they again asked for it after the President's inauguration.

Only a few officials have access to the system. The payment systems move trillions of dollars annually, facilitating Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to government contractors, and tax refunds, among other things.

After the Trump administration placed Lebryk on leave, he emailed his resignation to his colleagues on January 31, 2025. As per The New York Times report, in the email, he wrote:

"The fiscal service performs some of the most vital functions in government."

Lebryk also appreciated his colleagues, reminding them that their work may be unknown to most people, but it makes a difference.

"Please know that your work makes a difference and is so very important to the country. It has been an honor to work alongside you. Our work may be unknown to most of the public, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exceptionally important," he added.

While it is unclear why Elon Musk's DOGE wants access to payment systems, an MSNBC report suggests Musk allegedly plans to halt funding for programs such as Medicaid, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and so on.

The MSNBC report on February 1 also suggests if the billionaire had access to the "Do Not Pay" system list, which has the blacklisted contractors, he could allegedly remove his close friends from the list or place his "rivals" on the blacklist.

According to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on January 31.

Wyden demanded to know which DOGE officials requested access, whether they were granted access, whether any background checks were done on those officials, and what steps would be taken to ensure hackers or spies do not get access to the Fiscal Service payment systems.

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Elon Musk has not given any statement why DOGE officials requested access to the payment system. As Lebryk exits, it remains to be seen who is appointed the Fiscal Assistant Secretary.