Tag Archives: Treasury Department

Reuters reports: The U.S. Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit said on Wednesday it has issued a new rule that will narrow a key element of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, a law aimed at combating illicit finance. The new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, rule goes into effect on Wednesday, even as the unit receives public comment on the …

Politico reports: A federal judge late on Friday extended an order keeping Elon Musk’s DOGE team out of Treasury Department payment systems, ruling that the Trump administration’s process for granting access to the sensitive data was so flawed and haphazard that it was likely illegal. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that Democratic attorneys general were likely to prevail in …

The Washington Post reports: Trump says he has ordered the U.S. Treasury to stop minting new pennies, calling their production “wasteful.” No other official announcement on penny production has been made, and Treasury did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment. But the debate over whether to continue making lower-denomination coins has gone on for years, particularly as …

The Washington Post reports: A federal judge issued an emergency order early Saturday prohibiting Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service from accessing personal and financial data on millions of Americans kept at the Treasury Department, noting the possibility for irreparable harm. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer’s decision also ordered Musk and his team to “immediately destroy any and all copies …

Talking Points Memo reports: Overnight, Wired reported that, contrary to published reports that DOGE operatives at the Treasury Department are limited to “read only” access to department payment systems, this is not true. A 25-year-old DOGE operative named Marko Elez in fact has admin privileges on these critical systems, which directly control and pay out roughly 95% of payments made …

Politico reports: Federal employee unions on Monday sued to stop Elon Musk’s team from accessing a sensitive government payment system that controls the flow of trillions of dollars of payments as top Democrats stepped up their attacks on what they said was the billionaire’s “hostile takeover” of the Treasury Department. The lawsuit, which was filed days after Treasury Secretary Scott …

Bloomberg News reports: Elon Musk said his “DOGE team” of government efficiency enforcers is shutting down payments to federal contractors, suggesting that the world’s richest man may have access to sensitive systems used at the U.S. Treasury Department. “The corruption and waste is being rooted out in real-time,” Musk posted on X on Sunday, saying officials reporting to his so-called …

Rolling Stone reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick, a billionaire who has been accused of evading taxes, says that “the most important economic issue of the day” is extending Trump’s tax cuts for the ultra rich. Scott Bessent spoke about his economic plans while sitting for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Bessent is an …

The Associated Press reports: Thursday’s hearings include Doug Burgum for the Interior Department, Scott Turner for the Housing and Urban Development Department, Lee Zeldin for the EPA, Scott Bessent for the Treasury Department and Pam Bondi will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a second day. Bessent, the billionaire money manager from South Carolina, will take questions from members …

Reuters reports: Chinese state-sponsored hackers broke into the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month and stole documents from its workstations, according to a letter to lawmakers, that was provided to Reuters on Monday. The hackers compromised a third-party cybersecurity service provider and were able to access unclassified documents, the letter said, calling it a “major incident.” According to the letter, …

Axios reports: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress on Friday that “extraordinary measures” will be necessary as early as Jan. 14 unless Congress acts to raise or otherwise suspend the debt ceiling. President-elect Trump has voiced support to abolish the debt limit despite some of his supporters historically opposing action to raise the debt ceiling during Democratic administrations. The debt …

Reuters reports: Fitch made its decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating due to fiscal concerns and a deterioration in U.S governance as well as polarization which was reflected in part by the Jan. 6 insurrection, Richard Francis, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, told Reuters on Wednesday. In a move that took investors by surprise, Fitch downgraded the United …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Treasury Department reiterated Monday it expects to be able to pay the U.S. government’s bills only through June 1 without a debt limit increase, leaving just 10 days for White House negotiators and congressional Republicans to reach a deal. In her third letter to Congress in three weeks, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it was “highly …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A Florida man pleaded guilty today for fraudulently obtaining approximately $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and using those funds, in part, to purchase a $318,000 Lamborghini sports car for himself. Authorities seized the Lamborghini and $3.4 million from the bank accounts of David T. Hines, 29, of Miami, at the …

The Washington Post reports: Janet Yellen was confirmed as the first female treasury secretary in American history by the U.S. Senate Monday evening. Yellen’s confirmation process garnered little controversy as the former Federal Reserve chair has long-standing ties to Senate policymakers and extensive economic and government credentials. The final vote was 84-15, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) among …

The Las Vegas Journal-Review reports: A Nevada man has been charged with fraudulently obtaining nearly $2 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program money, meant for struggling small businesses, to purchase luxury cars and two luxury condominiums in Las Vegas. Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Nevada said, in an unsealed criminal complaint that charges Jorge Abramovs with one …

Politico reports: The Treasury Department announced a new spate of sanctions on Monday targeting the “inner circle” of Andrii Derkach, the pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker who aided Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to probe unsubstantiated allegations of wrongdoing by President-elect Joe Biden and his family. The department had previously designated Derkach himself for sanctions related to foreign interference in the 2020 election in …

CNBC reports: The Trump administration began sending stimulus payments of up to $600 to millions of Americans Tuesday evening as part of the recently passed Covid relief bill, the second such direct payment to Americans amid historic unemployment and ongoing business closures. The second round of payments will be distributed automatically in the following breakdown: up to $600 for eligible …

CBS News reports: Email accounts used by the Treasury Department’s senior leadership were compromised by suspected Russian government hackers who carried out a massive cyber-espionage campaign against several U.S. federal agencies, according to Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. The ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said the “full depth” of the Treasury hack “isn’t known.” Senate Finance Committee staff …

The New York Daily News reports: The Trump administration admitted Friday to stripping millions of dollars from an FDNY fund that foots healthcare bills for 9/11 survivors and promised to try to put an end to the heartless practice. The administration’s about-face came after the Daily News exclusively reported Thursday that the Treasury Department has over the past four years …