DOGE savings figures published on the initiative’s public tracking page are in some cases incorrect or unsupported by evidence, according to a review by federal auditors.

The Department of Government Efficiency, launched under Elon Musk, began posting estimated savings on a page known as the Wall of Receipts. Lawmakers asked the Government Accountability Office to assess whether those numbers held up. The watchdog concluded that several did not.

Credit for Work Already in Motion

One of the clearest problems auditors identified involves timing.

Of 264 leases listed for termination on the Wall of Receipts, 108 were already in the process of being terminated before DOGE was created.

That is roughly 40 percent of the lease terminations claimed as savings, representing work that had begun independently of the initiative. Counting them attributes to DOGE a result that would have occurred regardless.

A $1.7 Billion Figure With No Action Behind It

A second finding is more direct.

DOGE reported $1.7 billion in savings from a Department of Defense contract for information technology services. According to the GAO, no action was ultimately taken to terminate that contract, meaning no savings materialized at all.

This is not a case of an estimate proving optimistic. The underlying event that would have generated the savings never happened.

No Explanation of the Math

Beyond specific errors, auditors flagged a broader problem: DOGE did not disclose how it calculated its figures.

The GAO reported that DOGE officials did not respond to requests for information about methodology. Without that, there is no way to independently verify any of the numbers, including those the audit did not examine individually.

The report concluded that the data quality problems it identified limit the usefulness of the Wall of Receipts for policymakers.

It also made a point that extends beyond this particular initiative, noting that unreliable government data can erode public trust in government itself.

The Numbers and the Timeline

DOGE began publishing savings estimates on February 17, 2025. By July 7, it reported $110 billion in claimed savings across contracts, grants and leases.

The initiative had a defined endpoint. President Donald Trump’s executive order establishing DOGE sunset its operations on July 4.

Musk led the effort initially but stepped back from that role after only a few months.

Who Requested the Review

Democratic Senators Gary Peters of Michigan and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut asked the GAO to conduct the evaluation.

Peters responded to the findings with a broad critique. He said everyone supports eliminating waste and fraud, but characterized DOGE as a slapdash and deceptive effort that damaged the government’s capacity to serve Americans.

He argued the initiative claimed billions in savings it could not substantiate, took credit for work already underway, and refused to show its methodology, while putting sensitive data at risk and hollowing out important agencies.

Why Verification Matters Here

The findings do not establish that DOGE achieved nothing. The audit examined specific claims and found problems with those it reviewed.

What the report does establish is that the published total cannot be treated as a verified figure. When methodology is undisclosed and spot checks reveal both attribution errors and savings that never occurred, the aggregate number loses its evidentiary value regardless of whether portions of it are accurate.

The distinction matters for anyone evaluating the initiative’s legacy. Claimed savings and realized savings are different quantities, and the audit indicates the gap between them is not trivial.

What Remains Unresolved

Several questions the report does not answer will determine how this is eventually assessed.

How much of the $110 billion total reflects genuine, newly generated savings rather than pre-existing efforts or actions never taken. Whether any agency has independently reconciled its own budget figures against DOGE’s claims. And whether the methodology will ever be released now that the initiative has formally concluded.

With DOGE’s operations sunset as of July 4, obtaining that documentation may prove difficult. The Wall of Receipts remains publicly posted, but the organization that produced it no longer exists to explain how the numbers were built.