DOGE Special Report

DOGE: The Real Score

DOGE claims $130B in savings. Independent auditors say $28B. Here is the full breakdown — by agency, by conflict of interest, and by who picked up the contracts.

DOGE Claims
$130.0B
Total claimed savings
GAO Verifies
$28.0B
Independently confirmed
Gap
$102.0B
Claimed minus verified
Verified Rate
22%
GAO vs DOGE claims
Methodology matters

DOGE counts: projected future savings from planned reductions, hiring freezes, and attrition — regardless of cancellation fees or legal settlement costs. GAO counts: actual dollars saved after accounting for exit costs, replacement contract costs, and supplemental appropriations Congress voted to restore. The $102.0B gap is mostly explained by those factors.

Savings Timeline — Claimed vs Verified

DOGE claimed
GAO verified
Jan 202514% verified
Initial sweep. DEI offices, advisory boards canceled.
Feb 202523% verified
USAID gutted. Mass workforce reduction announced. OPM data shows 12,000 separations.
Mar 202527% verified
Peak cut month. 65,000 workforce reduction claimed. GAO begins real-time tracking.
Apr 202527% verified
Growth rate slows. Many "cancellations" revealed as contract pauses.
May 202528% verified
Congress pushes back. Several agencies restore some funding via supplemental.
Jun 202527% verified
Legal challenges begin. USAID termination ruled partially improper.
Jul–Dec 202523% verified
Plateau. Savings rate flatlines. GAO publishes first comprehensive audit.
2026 YTD22% verified
DOGE claims $130B total. GAO stands by $28B verified as of May 2026.

Agency Breakdown

Click any row for the claimed/verified breakdown and sources. Sort by clicking a column header.

AgencyClaimedVerifiedGapVerified %
OPM
workforce
$22.0B$8.8B$13.2B
40%
HHS
grants
$11.0B$2.4B$8.6B
22%
DOD
contracts
$8.8B$3.1B$5.7B
35%
USAID
grants
$8.2B$1.1B$7.1B
13%
USDA
grants
$6.5B$1.2B$5.3B
18%
Veterans Affairs
contracts
$4.5B$2.1B$2.4B
47%
EPA
contracts
$3.6B$0.6B$3.0B
18%
State Department
operations
$2.4B$0.8B$1.6B
34%
Department of Education
contracts
$1.9B$0.2B$1.7B
12%
FEMA
contracts
$1.8B$0.5B$1.3B
27%
GSA
operations
$1.2B$0.6B$0.6B
52%
Department of Labor
workforce
$1.1B$0.4B$0.7B
35%
All other agencies & smaller programs
reconciliation
$57.0B$6.1B$50.9B
11%
Total$130.0B$28.0B$102.0B22%

Claimed by Category — Named Agencies

workforce
$23.1B
claimed (12 named agencies)
grants
$25.7B
claimed (12 named agencies)
contracts
$20.6B
claimed (12 named agencies)
operations
$3.6B
claimed (12 named agencies)

Sources: DOGE public dashboard (doge.gov) · GAO audit GAO-26-106 (May 2026) · OPM workforce data · USAspending.gov · OGE.gov financial disclosures · FEC filings. Data current as of May 20, 2026. All contract amounts are from federal procurement records.