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DOGE's 'Wall of Receipts' Doesn't Add Up, GAO Audit Finds
GAO audited DOGE's claimed $110B savings; found $27.4B in contracts not terminated, 96% of grant savings unverifiable. Report highlights transparency issues.
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The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the savings claimed by the Department of Government Efficiency on its online “Wall of Receipts” are often incorrect or lack supporting evidence.
The independent congressional watchdog audited DOGE’s published estimates and found that more than 2,500 contracts listed as terminated – totaling $27.4 billion in claimed savings – had not actually been terminated. The GAO also said it could not verify the methodology behind 96% of the grant savings DOGE reported.
“While DOGE provided some information about estimated savings, several issues limit the transparency and reliability of these reported savings,” the agency said in its report.
DOGE launched the “Wall of Receipts” in February 2025, less than a month after President Donald Trump created the cost-cutting agency by executive order. The database claimed roughly $110 billion in total savings from slashed contracts and grants across the federal government.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk became the public face of DOGE during its initial run. He stepped back from the initiative in April 2025. DOGE shut down completely in July. The agency led the layoffs of thousands of federal employees and effectively closed several whole departments.