Tech billionaire Elon Musk has his sights on cutting off yet another federal program since seizing control of the Treasury Department's payment system: aid to faith-based organizations that engage in refugee resettlement.
But in going after these groups, he could ultimately blow up the U.S. health care system, Creighton University Law Professor Victoria Haneman wrote on Threads Monday.
The controversy began when Musk accused Lutheran aid groups of engaging in "money laundering" with federal funds, and vowed to cut off the "illegal" payments, according to Religion News Service.
The pledge came after pro-Trump conspiracy theorist and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn posted a spreadsheet of Lutheran groups receiving payments. "The spreadsheet — which also included organizations that were not Lutheran — listed groups such as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (now Global Refuge), one of several organizations that partner with the federal government to resettle refugees; Lutheran colleges such as Pacific Lutheran University; and various local chapters of Lutheran Social Services," reported Jack Jenkins.
ALSO READ: 'Driven to self-loathing': Inside the extremist website believed to 'groom' teen attackers
But if Musk unilaterally blocks payments to all these organizations, wrote Haneman, it would do a lot more than just halt refugee resettlement.
"Elon Musk tweeted last night that he is going through the Treasury system and 'shutting down these illegal payments,'" she wrote. "He was referring to payments made to Lutheran aid orgs. He is about to find out how many medical providers have religious ties."
For example, she noted, in South Dakota, "Lutheran Social Services is one of the state’s largest employers. Lutheran Social Services does everything from help autistic people live independently to run nursing homes to manage foster care."
All of this comes as Musk's seizure of key parts of the federal payment system and civil service, including the Office of Personnel Management, triggers massive protests.
