Elon Musk recently acknowledged that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is underperforming its ambitious targets. Previously, he claimed that his team could cut $1 trillion from the federal budget for the next fiscal year by Sept. 30. However, during a cabinet meeting last week, Mr. Musk admitted that the expected savings would likely be around $150 billion, which is 85% less than the original goal.
An analysis by The New York Times suggests that even this reduced figure might be exaggerated. DOGE has been inflating its reported savings by including non-existent contracts, counting budget cuts that are not scheduled for the upcoming fiscal year, and making speculative assumptions about potential spending reductions. For instance, one of the largest claimed savings involves canceling a contract that was never finalized. Despite the government only soliciting proposals without committing to a vendor or price, DOGE assigned itself credit for a specific and significant amount of savings based on this unfounded cancellation.
— new from The New York Times