Retired Treasury Department official honored as Federal Employee of the Year

Reskinned for Fun and Insight

June 18, 2025 at 11:33 AM CDT

Mister Jonah Lebryk swapped his nine-to-five corporate gig for the grinding machinery of the federal government back in the day, and he stuck with it for an impressive 30 years.

Now he's about to join the ranks of those unsung heroes, being honored when the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals are handed out by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service on June 17.

Lebryk will receive the federal employee of the year award for his work as fiscal assistant secretary of the Treasury Department. The department had approximately $6 trillion annually on its plate, covering Social Security, Medicare, federal salaries, grants, and tax refunds.

He bid adieu to that position in January, after butting heads with the Department of Government Efficiency over control of the payment system. The Trump administration later fought tooth and nail in the courts over the issue of whether officials could pause payments or gain access to the system. The Supreme Court finally ruled in their favor.

In a candid talk with Morning Edition, Lebryk shared his thoughts on government service, his most memorable moment during his time at the Treasury, and his reasons for calling it quits with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

The conversation has been shortened for brevity and clarity.

Interview Highlights

Steve Inskeep: To whom did your loyalty lie as a civil servant?

David Lebryk: Let me tell you, when I took the oath of office, I swore it to the Constitution. That's sacred, man, and it was damn important to me all the way up to the end. I made sure we followed it to the letter. Plus, I've always had a burning passion for government and making sure it works for the people.

Inskeep: What duties did you manage in your final years?

Lebryk: As fiscal assistant secretary, we like to keep a low profile. We want our work to speak for itself. If it does, people don't notice it. If it doesn't, they sure as hell do. Our duties included making more than 70 million payments a month to Social Security beneficiaries and maintaining the government's finances. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds are like the bedrock of the global economic system, and we were hell-bent on ensuring they were disbursed on time, every time.

Inskeep: No room for errors? Like the U.S. can never bounce a check?

Lebryk: Exactly. The margin of error is zero.

Inskeep: Lebryk worked for Democratic as well as Republican administrations. He even served under the first Trump administration. He found the second administration challenging.

Lebryk: To be honest, serving in those eight days as acting secretary and deputy secretary was a career highlight. Character and leadership are key, and integrity in leadership is crucial. You've gotta make difficult decisions that might not be popular, but you've gotta maintain your integrity throughout.

Inskeep: How did those eight days, the highest point of your career, unfold?

Lebryk: For the most part, it went smoothly, with only two significant issues causing discomfort. One was the stopping of payments, and the second was granting access to our systems.

Inskeep: Who approached you, what did they ask for, and how did they ask?

Lebryk: I don't care to delve into the details, but it was clear there was an interest in stopping payments and gaining access to our systems.

Inskeep: What kind of data are we talking about here?

Lebryk: We have a ton of sensitive information on people, including bank account information, addresses, Social Security numbers, and more. We owe it to our citizens to protect that information, and we only grant access on a need-to-know basis, after passing background checks and undergoing training.

Inskeep: Was the request made of you something that you saw as unwise or even illegal?

Lebryk: It sure was.

Inskeep: Not prudent, to put it mildly, and not within the law either.

Lebryk: Exactly.

Inskeep: So, did you offer up some advice for them or just say no?

Lebryk: Well, as acting secretary, I was responsible, so my answer was no.

Inskeep: I seems like news reports said you resigned.

Lebryk: That's right.

Inskeep: But no one fired you?

Lebryk: That's correct.

Inskeep: So, it was your decision to go?

Lebryk: Yep.

Inskeep: Do you think future officials in this administration will ultimately come to appreciate the importance of the bureaucracy, seeing as how they initially labeled civil servants as the enemy?

Lebryk: At the end of the day, you've gotta own up to your actions. And at the end of the day, you've gotta deliver the goods.

Inskeep: Do you miss the job?

Lebryk: I can't deny that I get a pang of nostalgia every now and then, but I'm also relieved I don't have to grapple with the difficult dilemmas on a daily basis anymore.

Editor's note:

We sought comment from the Treasury Department regarding David Lebryk's story.

The department claims they're currently modernizing the payment system.

Without revealing specifics, they assert Lebryk gives a "skewed account" of the events at hand, and they also assert that in Lebryk's tenure, recommended reforms were "ignored."

The government's policy-and-legislation regarding the Treasury Department's payment system became a point of contention between David Lebryk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Lebryk's public comments on the issue underscore the importance of politics in maintaining checks and balances within the government, offering insight into general-news stories about the administration's approach to policy-making. The ongoing debate about the payment system issue also highlights the role of the news media in reporting on public officials' actions and the accountability process that should follow.