The report, commissioned by Sens. Gary Peters and Richard Blumenthal, exposes a pattern of deceptive accounting practices. DOGE claimed credit for canceling contracts that remained active and neglected to account for the complex costs associated with ending federal agreements, such as settlement obligations. According to the GAO, 96% of the savings purportedly achieved through grant cancellations lacked sufficient documentation for verification.
GAO Report Finds Elon Musk's DOGE Inflated Government Savings Claims
A Government Accountability Office report released Thursday reveals that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) systematically exaggerated its impact on federal spending. Investigators found the organization frequently took credit for pre-existing lease terminations and failed to provide verifiable data for nearly all of its claimed grant-related savings.
Critics have seized on the findings to challenge the legitimacy of the department's operations. Jessica Tillipman of the George Washington University Law School pointed to a specific instance where DOGE claimed $28 million in savings on an Air Force contract that actually yielded only $600,000. Senator Peters described the initiative as a deceptive effort that prioritized optics over genuine reform, while Blumenthal warned that the Trump administration is using the department as a cover to dismantle essential government services.
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