cryptopolitan.com
The Department of Government Efficiency ($DOGE), a federal cost-cutting effort backed by President Donald Trump and founded by billionaire Elon Musk, reportedly has some discrepancies in its reported savings.
According to its website, $DOGE claims to have saved $55 billion in federal spending, but only $16.6 billion of that amount is accounted for, leaving $38.4 billion in question.
Further complicating the matter is an error in the data $DOGE published, which misrepresented an $8 million contract as $8 billion. The correction reduces the initiative’s detailed savings to just $8.6 billion, far from the reported total.
Musk promised Americans that the initiative would maintain “maximum transparency” and ensure “all actions are fully public.” However, $DOGE’s inconsistent accounting is giving liberals grounds to query the reliability of its financial reporting.
Controversy over misreported contract savings
After weeks of protests from Democrats, federal unions, and transparency advocates, $DOGE has begun providing more details on its website, including a list of about 700 canceled contracts. As of February 18, the site also listed nearly $145 million in real estate-related savings.
The most expensive contract it claims to have canceled was an $8 billion agreement with D&G Support Services, LLC, a firm that was set to provide services for the Office of Diversity and Civil Rights within US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
D&G Support Services, headquartered in a Washington, D.C. suburb, describes itself as a “people-focused” organization with fewer than 200 employees. Its largest government contracts include $16 million from the Air Force for staffing support and approximately $11 million from the US Coast Guard. Since 2017, its average contract value has been around $1 million.
Looking at the latest financial records, ICE’s entire annual budget in the last decade has been around $9 billion, making the $8 billion contract cancellation highly improbable. The agency’s largest recent contracts, according to usaspending.gov, were $800 million for charter flight services and $787 million for transporting unaccompanied children and families.
Per Bloomberg, a search of the Federal Procurement Data System for the contract ID listed on $DOGE’s website, 70CMSD22A00000008, shows the original contract filing from September 2022 mentions a total contract of $8 billion.
An update on January 28 revised that figure to $8 million, the same day the department listed the contract as an $8 billion saving. Moreover, two additional filings on January 29 and January 30 confirmed the contract’s partial and then full termination, both reflecting the corrected $8 million value.
A small pattern of errors ignites calls for ‘clarity’
Elon Musk’s advisory role in the US government has put him in the midst of controversial takes and a mountain of lawsuits. His company, SpaceX, has received billions of dollars in government contracts, which democrats believe is illegal as it presents a “conflict-of-interest issues.”
President Trump said that Musk will “police himself” regarding any conflicts related to the six companies he operates. Much to the dismay of left-wing aligned policymakers, even though Musk is required to file a federal financial disclosure, the document will not be made public.
$DOGE’s website states that it is working to present its data “in a digestible and fully transparent manner with clear assumptions, consistent with applicable rules and regulations.” It also explains that final contract termination notices may take up to a month to appear publicly.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office last week, Musk acknowledged that some information he shares “will be incorrect and should be corrected,” adding that $DOGE would act swiftly to address such errors.
The cost-cutting initiative has moved across several federal government offices, including the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, canceling improper contractual government payments.
On Tuesday, through an X post, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise stated that he wants Congress’ budget resolution to include “passing into law $DOGE’s identified waste in government.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune also supported the department’s efforts during a Fox News interview last week, calling $DOGE’s work “long overdue.”
It’s time to act on ALL of the powerful mandates the American people gave to @realDonaldTrump in November:
Securing the border, opening up American energy to lower costs, keeping tax rates low (including no tax on tips), strengthening our national defense, a two-year extension…
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) February 18, 2025
“Obviously, they’re going to identify some things that perhaps can’t be changed or fixed, but there’s a ton of stuff out there that I think can be done better,” Thune reckoned.