Elon Musk: Uncertainty Surrounds DOGE’s Reported $55 Billion in Government Cuts

According to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, appointed by President Donald Trump to reduce the size of the federal government, they have reported saving the American public $55 billion in federal funds through their cost-cutting measures. However, verifying the specific impact of these savings from DOGE and the nature of the cuts is challenging because only a fraction of the contracts that DOGE claims to have terminated has been made public.

Recently, DOGE published a list of over 1,000 federal contracts on their website that they assert to have ended. They have also cited other reductions achieved through uncovering fraud, selling assets, canceling grants, reducing the workforce, making program modifications, and saving on regulations.

The 1,127 contracts span 39 federal departments and agencies, totaling roughly $8.6 billion of the $55 billion DOGE says it has cut.

The largest contract DOGE initially said it had cut was an $8 billion agreement for “Equal Employment Opportunity” services — but the amount of the contract, as listed on the DOGE website, was revised on Wednesday from $8 billion down to $8 million.

The contract, from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, was originally capped at $8 billion on paper when it was first awarded to consulting firm D&G Support Services in 2022 as a blanket purchase agreement through 2027.

Last month, on Jan. 28, the contract — described as “Program and Technical Support Services for Office of Diversity and Civil Rights (ODCR)” — was modified to change its cap from $8 billion to $8 million, citing “OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION” without offering any other details.

On Jan. 29, the contract was “partially” terminated, citing the administration’s effort to terminate “all DEIA related services” related to then-President Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order 14035. On Jan. 30, the contract was fully terminated, citing the same reason.

It’s unclear if the revision to the contract’s value on DOGE’s website, from $8 billion to $8 million, affects DOGE’s claim of $55 billion saved. As originally listed, the $8 billion accounted for more than half of the savings DOGE claimed through the termination of contracts.

D&G CEO Leah Sanders told ABC News in a statement that the contract’s value was $8 million.

“D&G Support Services (DBA D&G Solutions) acknowledges that the previously reported contract value of $8 billion was incorrect,” the statement said. “This discrepancy appears to have resulted from a clerical error in the original government filing upon contract award. The contract value had a ceiling of $8 million.”

Since September 2022, D&G has been awarded $2.5 million under the contract, according to federal spending data. On its website, D&G lists dozens of federal clients, including ICE, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Coastal Guard, the U.S. Army and the Department of Energy.

Representatives for DOGE did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

DOGE acknowledges on its website that it is still working to post the full list of its contracts it has terminated, and that, for some data, “there are likely some errors or omissions.” It further says that only 20% of its “savings” are currently reflected on the site.

Receipts posted by DOGE show it has cut at least $6.5 billion from the USAID foreign aid agency, $502 million from the Department of Education, $232 million from the Social Security Administration and $192 million from the General Services Administration.

It has also cut at least $173 million from the Agriculture Department, $152 million from the Department of Health and Human Services, $133 million from the Transportation Department and $119 million from the Commerce Department.