GAO Finds DOGE Could Not Verify Over Half of $61 Billion in Contract Savings
Updated
Updated · Yahoo News UK · Aug 9
GAO Finds DOGE Could Not Verify Over Half of $61 Billion in Contract Savings
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo News UK · Aug 9
Summary
More than half of DOGE’s claimed $61 billion in contract savings could not be verified or came from contracts that were never actually terminated, according to a new GAO audit.
The audit said DOGE claimed 13,476 contract terminations, but nearly 2,000 were not terminated, accounting for about $27.4 billion of the purported savings.
GAO also found lease and grant savings were overstated: 108 of 264 leases were already being terminated before DOGE acted, and 96% of claimed grant savings could not be verified.
DOGE had publicly touted about $215 billion in total savings after Elon Musk repeatedly cut his original target from $2 trillion to $1 trillion and then far lower.
The findings reinforce earlier doubts about DOGE’s accounting, including reports that it counted maximum contract ceilings as savings rather than likely actual government spending.