GAO audit finds major discrepancies in Elon Musk's government efficiency program savings
A Government Accountability Office review says the Department of Government Efficiency vastly overstated its cost-cutting results, with many claimed contract terminations and grant savings unverified.
The Government Accountability Office released a report this month indicating that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created under Elon Musk's initiative to reduce federal spending, significantly overstated its savings. The agency had claimed to have terminated 13,476 contracts, but the GAO found that nearly 2,000 of those contracts remained active, accounting for about $27.4 billion of the purported savings.
The audit also noted that many of the lease terminations listed by DOGE were either identified before the group was formed or were already in the process of being terminated. Overall, the GAO determined that more than half of the $61 billion DOGE reported as contract savings could not be verified, and 96 percent of the grant-related savings lacked verification.
An earlier investigation by Politico in August reported that of the $52.8 billion DOGE said it saved by cancelling contracts, the actual savings were closer to $1.4 billion. The investigation highlighted that DOGE calculated savings based on the maximum spending limits in contracts, which often exceed actual expenditures.
"The practice is akin to taking out a credit card with a $20,000 limit, cancelling it and then saying, 'I've just saved $20,000,'" procurement expert Jessica Tillipman told Politico.
The GAO's findings suggest that the program fell far short of its original goal to cut $2 trillion in waste, later reduced to $1 trillion, and raise questions about the accuracy of its reported financial impact.