Elon Musk and a team of young 20-somethings have unlawfully taken possession of the computers in the Treasury Department, giving them access to confidential and highly sensitive information on all American citizens who have ever received a payment from the government. There is now no way to control or determine where that information ends up.

This situation should set off alarms for all of us. They also now have the power to stop payments to whomever they choose, foreign aid and domestic programs that he doesn’t like. Elon Musk is a private citizen with no government authority, no approval by Congress, and no oversight. His so-called Department of Government Efficiency is not a true department. It’s just a team of Trump’s henchmen called in to smash the federal government.

I’m wondering if the people who voted for Trump realized they voted for this. How will they feel when their Social Security checks stop, or when the hospitals or nursing homes that their loved ones are in are closed down?

You can bet, as Musk gleefully stops payments to programs and foreign aid, that he unilaterally decides is “wasteful,” his government contracts that helped to create his wealth won’t be among them. It’s clear now that his investment in Trump’s campaign is paying off.

This is a betrayal of the trust Trump’s voters placed in him, and his oath to protect the constitution. It is illegal and must be stopped.

JULIA HESSE

Astoria