US President Donald Trump has stated that his administration is examining US Treasury debt payments for potential fraud, suggesting that the country's US$36 trillion debt might be lower than previously thought.
Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said administration officials reviewing payment records for wasteful spending have turned their attention to Treasury debt payments, a key component of the global financial system.
"We're even looking at Treasuries," Trump said. "There could be a problem - you've been reading about that, with Treasuries and that could be an interesting problem."
He added: "It could be that a lot of those things don't count. In other words, that some of that stuff that we're finding is very fraudulent, therefore maybe we have less debt than we thought."
Trump's comments come as he has tasked Elon Musk with an ambitious overhaul of the federal government, sparking protests and accusations of illegal activity. Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" has disrupted operations at federal agencies, raising privacy and security concerns while accessing sensitive records.
A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked Musk's team from accessing government systems used for processing trillions of dollars in payments, citing a risk of sensitive information disclosure.
Following the ruling, Musk stated that a list of entities ineligible for government payments should be updated frequently.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a Trump appointee, said last week that Musk's team had "read only" access to the payment system, preventing them from making changes.
Trump's attempts to freeze domestic aid have been blocked in court, but project managers report billions of US dollars being withheld for clean energy and transportation projects.
Some health clinics have been forced to lay off staff and close facilities due to lack of federal funding.