Government agencies terminated and descoped 103 wasteful contracts over the past five days, with a ceiling value of $4.4 billion and savings of $103 million, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stated in an X post on Nov. 1.
The canceled contracts included “a $13.4M VA consulting contract for ‘coaching support and dashboard services’, a $43k State Dept. educational training contract for ‘crucial influence and getting things done courses’, and a $44k State Dept. educational training contract for ‘crucial conversations and power of habit courses,’” the department said.
According to the official DOGE website, the initiative has saved an estimated $214 billion for taxpayers as of Oct. 4, through actions such as asset sales, deletion of improper and fraudulent payments, and contract/lease calculations and renegotiations.
That total comes to $1,329 saved per American taxpayer.
The agencies that have registered the most savings include the Department of Health and Human Services, the General Services Administration, the Social Security Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Small Business Administration.
According to DOGE, among the “strangest, most baffling” uses of government funding uncovered are a $620,000 grant for adopting an LGBT-inclusive teen pregnancy prevention program for transgender-identifying boys and an $841,000 grant to examine the influence of “intersectional stigma” on blood pressure.
During an Oct. 31 interview with Joe Rogan on his podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience,” former DOGE head Elon Musk discussed the challenges faced in running the initiative.
DOGE continues to reduce waste and fraud, Musk said, adding that the initiative has become less publicized because now that he has left, people who oppose the initiative no longer have a singular individual to target.
Musk exited DOGE in May after his 130-day mandate as a special government employee ended.
“You turn off the money spigot to fraudsters, they get very upset, to say the least,“ Musk said. ”My death threat level went ballistic, you know, was like a rocket going to orbit. But now that I’m not in D.C., I guess they don’t really have a person to attack anymore.”
DOGE is facing considerable criticism from Democrats. In September, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) released a report accusing DOGE of operating outside of federal law and having “unchecked access” to the personal data of Americans, the lawmaker’s office said in a statement released on Sept. 25.
There are several whistleblower disclosures regarding DOGE staff’s alleged copying of sensitive Social Security and employment data of Americans into a cloud database without any verified security controls, the statement said.
DOGE operatives work across various agencies simultaneously without having the required training and without adhering to privacy protections and cybersecurity protocols, the statement added.
“DOGE isn’t making government more efficient—it’s putting Americans’ sensitive information in the hands of completely unqualified and untrustworthy individuals,” Peters said.
“They are bypassing cybersecurity protections, evading oversight, and putting Americans’ personal data at risk.
“We cannot allow this shadow operation to continue operating unchecked while millions of people face the threat of identity theft, economic disruption, and permanent harm. The Trump Administration and agency leadership must immediately put a stop to these reckless actions that risk causing unprecedented chaos in Americans’ daily lives.”
In a recent interview with Fox News, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said 21 states have refused to hand over data regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to authorities, including DOGE, to verify whether illegal immigrants were receiving benefits.
“Twenty-nine states stepped up. Twenty-one blue states refused—and two SUED US FOR ASKING! And guess what? In just the states that cooperated, we’ve already uncovered massive fraud,” she said in an X post on Nov. 2.
“There’s a new sheriff in town. [The president] will not tolerate waste, fraud, or abuse while hardworking Americans go hungry.”
