Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency claim to have saved the federal government $55 billion through staff reductions, lease cancellations, and terminated contracts. However, a New York Times analysis found accounting errors, incorrect assumptions, and outdated data that mar the math supporting these claims. Some contracts were double- or triple-counted, while others were mistakenly listed as canceled under the DOGE initiative when they were actually halted by the Biden administration. Additionally, the group’s accounting errors have led to inaccuracies in the claimed savings.
The mistakes in the contracts listed on the DOGE website range from small projects worth a few thousand dollars to large contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Some individuals, like David Reid, were surprised to find their contracts listed as canceled when they had simply expired or been ended for other reasons. The cancellations listed on the website often correspond to other administration priorities rather than purely efficiency measures, leading to skepticism about the effectiveness of the cost-cutting effort.
The group’s accounting errors have raised concerns among those familiar with government contracting processes. Many experts argue that the data used by the DOGE team is not sufficient to provide real-time accounting of contract savings. The numbers presented fail to consider termination costs that the government will have to pay to close these contracts, and there are unrealistic estimates based on umbrella contracts that do not reflect actual savings.
The “wall of receipts” page on the DOGE website acknowledges inaccuracies and promises to improve over time. However, the site has not been fully transparent about the data included or the changes made to correct errors. Updates to the website following reports of inaccuracies were made without changing the “last updated” date, raising questions about the credibility of the information presented. Additionally, communication from the group on social media platforms has repeated some of the same errors found on the website.
Overall, the claimed savings of $55 billion by the DOGE initiative remain questionable due to the accounting errors and inaccuracies identified in the contracts listed on the website. The lack of transparency and the reliance on outdated or incomplete data have cast doubt on the credibility of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk’s team. While the goal of reducing wasteful spending is commendable, the methods used by the group to achieve this goal appear to be flawed and may not result in the intended savings to be returned to the public.
