Elon Musk has admitted that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) failed to meet its ambitious goal of cutting $1 trillion in government spending, now estimating savings of only $150 billion — just 15 percent of his original $1 trillion goal, and even that figure may be too high.
During a meeting with President Donald Trump’s cabinet on Thursday, Musk backtracked on his earlier promise to slash $1 trillion in government spending by September 30, the end of the fiscal year.
However, new analysis from The New York Times reveals that even this revised target is in jeopardy, as DOGE’s savings estimates have been plagued with significant errors. The department has been inflating its progress by reporting faulty data and making assumptions about future federal spending that aren’t guaranteed.
DOGE continues to post its estimated savings on its “Wall of Receipts” page, which was last updated Tuesday. But the page is full of mistakes. While some errors have been corrected — like triple-counted savings or confusing billions with millions — others remain, according to the Times.
One glaring mistake includes a claim of $1.9 billion in savings from a canceled IRS contract. The problem is that the contract was canceled under President Joe Biden, not during Musk’s time. Another error involves $1.75 billion saved from a canceled grant to a vaccine nonprofit, which the nonprofit says had already been fully paid, meaning no savings were realized.
Even those who support Musk’s goal are growing frustrated with the lack of real progress. “They’re just spinning their wheels, citing in many cases overstated or fake savings,” said Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute. “What’s most frustrating is that we agree with their goals. But we’re watching them flail at achieving them.”
Musk’s original $1 trillion goal has been under fire for some time. Last month, The New Yorker reported that DOGE would only save $245.8 billion annually if it fired every federal worker outside the military or USPS.
In addition to the inaccurate savings claims, DOGE is now under investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for mishandling sensitive government data. According to Wired, the GAO is specifically looking into DOGE’s access to federal systems after media reports raised alarms about untrained personnel altering databases and scraping data. One Congressional aide described the situation as “alarming,” saying, “The reports of untrained people rummaging around databases changing code, scraping data — who knows what they’re doing?”
The White House has yet to respond to requests for comment.
