The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been making significant strides in slashing federal government spending this week, despite facing legal challenges. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper denied a request from federal labor unions to stop the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration. Another victory came from U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who allowed DOGE to continue accessing data systems at various federal agencies. Additionally, District Judge John Bates ruled in favor of DOGE, allowing it to access sensitive data from three federal agencies, including the Department of Labor and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
DOGE also made a significant find this week, discovering an identification code that links U.S. Treasury payments to a budget line item responsible for nearly $4.7 trillion in payments. This identification code, known as the Treasury Access Symbol (TAS), was frequently left blank, making it difficult to trace where the money was going. DOGE has now made it a requirement for this field to be filled out, increasing transparency in government spending. The agency also revealed that there are over 4 million active credit cards used by the U.S. government, processing approximately 90 million transactions and $40 billion in spending in fiscal year 2024.
In terms of how COVID relief funds were spent by schools, DOGE reported that millions were spent on expenses that had little impact on students. Examples included Granite Public Schools in Utah spending $86,000 on hotel rooms at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and Santa Ana Unified spending $393,000 to rent a Major League Baseball stadium. Additionally, schools spent money on items such as swimming pool passes and an ice cream truck, raising concerns about the oversight and impact of the spending.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is collaborating with DOGE to cut waste within the Department of Defense, targeting areas that are not core to the department’s mission. Hegseth expressed support for DOGE’s efforts to identify redundancies and eliminate priorities that are not essential, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and climate change programs. He highlighted the importance of working with DOGE to find and eliminate unnecessary spending within the department.
Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, delivered a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he highlighted the accomplishments of the agency and the importance of cutting government spending. Musk received a golden chainsaw from Argentina’s President Javier Milei as a symbol of the cuts being made by DOGE. He emphasized the need to continue fighting against excessive government spending, referring to it as a battle against the “Matrix.” Overall, DOGE’s efforts to slash government spending have faced legal challenges but have also achieved significant wins, uncovering inefficiencies and wasteful spending in various federal agencies.
