(WASHINGTON) — When Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency launched its effort to slash federal spending last year, it also created a website to show how much money it said it was saving taxpayers.
A new review by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found the site’s claim of $110 billion in taxpayer savings was vastly inflated and unreliable.
The report found DOGE could not provide enough information to verify 96% of its reported savings from canceled grants.
Despite its pledge of transparency, the report found DOGE did not use its stated methodology to calculate about half of the savings it reported.
“Because U.S. DOGE Service officials did not respond to requests for information, GAO could not determine the reasons why DOGE did not disclose data quality issues and limitations when the website first went live or at any time since then,” the report said.
The report also found DOGE failed to terminate some of the contracts it claimed to have canceled. According to the report, $27.4 billion in claimed savings was never executed, and DOGE did not provide identifying information for another $7.2 billion in claimed savings.
DOGE also claimed $1.7 billion in savings from an IT services contract for the Defense Department’s Defense Health Agency, but the report said no changes were ever made.
The report also said DOGE claimed savings from millions of dollars in leases that had already been identified for termination.
Musk has since left DOGE. ABC News reached out to Musk and the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Although DOGE formally ended on July 4, its “Wall of Receipts” remains online, claiming a total of $215 billion in taxpayer savings.
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