The Government Accountability Office released a report concluding that the Department of Government Efficiency, known as Doge, made numerous unsubstantiated claims regarding taxpayer savings. The watchdog’s assessment focused on Doge’s “Wall of Receipts,” a public-facing tracker that purported to document $110bn in savings across various government contracts, grants, and leases.
The GAO identified several significant deficiencies in Doge’s reporting practices. The organization failed to provide sufficient documentation to verify the methodology used to calculate 96% of the claimed savings. Additionally, among 264 leases that Doge identified for termination, 108 were already in the process of concluding before the organization was established, accounting for approximately $15.3m of the reported $53.5m in lease-related savings. The report also noted instances where Doge claimed savings that were never realized, including a $1.7bn figure tied to a defense department IT services contract that was never actually terminated.
Doge operated as an informal government entity rather than an official department during President Trump’s second term, launching in early 2025 before closing last month. The organization was initially headed by Elon Musk, who departed in May 2025. While Musk had promised annual savings potentially reaching $2tn through federal workforce reductions and program eliminations, Doge’s own estimates placed total savings at approximately $214bn.
The audit was conducted at the request of Democratic Senators Gary Peters and Richard Blumenthal and covered the period from 20 January 2025 through 7 July 2026. Senator Peters characterized the effort as “slapdash and deceptive,” stating it had misled the public while harming government operations. Following its closure announcement last month, Doge indicated that efforts to eliminate waste would continue despite the formal organization’s dissolution.
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