DOGE claims $55 billion in government cuts so far -- but the figure is hard to verify
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, tasked by President Donald Trump with slashing the federal government, claims that so far its cuts have saved the American public $55 billion in federal funds -- but it's not yet possible to verify how much DOGE has cut and what exactly it's cutting because, as DOGE acknowledges, only a portion of the contracts allegedly terminated as part of its operation has been disclosed.
DOGE this week posted on its website a list of more than 1,000 federal contracts it says it has terminated, to go along with additional cuts it says it's made through fraud detection, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings.
The 1,127 contracts span 39 federal departments and agencies, totaling roughly $8.6 billion of the $55 billion DOGE says it has cut.
The largest contract DOGE initially said it had cut was an $8 billion agreement for "Equal Employment Opportunity" services -- but the amount of the contract, as listed on the DOGE website, was revised on Wednesday from $8 billion down to $8 million.
The contract, from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, was originally capped at $8 billion on paper when it was first awarded to consulting firm D&G Support Services in 2022 as a blanket purchase agreement through 2027.
Last month, on Jan. 28, the contract -- described as "Program and Technical Support Services for Office of Diversity and Civil Rights (ODCR)" -- was modified to change its cap from $8 billion to $8 million, citing "OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION" without offering any other details.
On Jan. 29, the contract was "partially" terminated, citing the administration's effort to terminate "all DEIA related services" related to then-President Joe Biden's 2021 Executive Order 14035. On Jan. 30, the contract was fully terminated, citing the same reason.
It's unclear if the revision to the contract's value on DOGE's website, from $8 billion to $8 million, affects DOGE's claim of $55 billion saved. As originally listed, the $8 billion accounted for more than half of the savings DOGE claimed through the termination of contracts.
D&G CEO Leah Sanders told ABC News in a statement that the contract's value was $8 million.
"D&G Support Services (DBA D&G Solutions) acknowledges that the previously reported contract value of $8 billion was incorrect," the statement said. "This discrepancy appears to have resulted from a clerical error in the original government filing upon contract award. The contract value had a ceiling of $8 million."
Since September 2022, D&G has been awarded $2.5 million under the contract, according to federal spending data. On its website, D&G lists dozens of federal clients, including ICE, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Coastal Guard, the U.S. Army and the Department of Energy.
Representatives for DOGE did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.
DOGE acknowledges on its website that it is still working to post the full list of its contracts it has terminated, and that, for some data, "there are likely some errors or omissions." It further says that only 20% of its "savings" are currently reflected on the site.
Receipts posted by DOGE show it has cut at least $6.5 billion from the USAID foreign aid agency, $502 million from the Department of Education, $232 million from the Social Security Administration and $192 million from the General Services Administration.
It has also cut at least $173 million from the Agriculture Department, $152 million from the Department of Health and Human Services, $133 million from the Transportation Department and $119 million from the Commerce Department.
