Overview
- The Government Accountability Office released reports this week that found large portions of the Department of Government Efficiency’s claimed savings could not be substantiated and that the Wall of Receipts contains widespread data errors.
- GAO audited a $110 billion subset of DOGE-listed contracts, grants and leases and found that many entries were incorrect or unverifiable, including 108 leases that were already being ended before DOGE existed and nearly 2,000 contracts the audit says were not actually terminated.
- Auditors reported they did not receive full cooperation from key actors, noting the White House, DOGE officials and Elon Musk did not provide requested interviews or documentation that would allow GAO to verify savings or methodology.
- GAO’s personnel review found incomplete records on ethics and disclosure compliance: about nine agencies provided details on roughly 60 DOGE staffers while auditors identified many more associates in public records and could not confirm required training or filings for dozens of detailees.
- The watchdog recommended the Wall of Receipts prominently disclose data limitations, the site remains live, and lawmakers are signaling further oversight to protect agency capacity, public trust and the accuracy of future federal savings claims.