A US Government Accountability Office report has cast serious doubt on the Department of Government Efficiency’s claimed savings, finding that most could not be independently verified. The findings matter because DOGE, led by Elon Musk under the Trump administration, publicly claimed to have saved taxpayers billions while making wide-ranging cuts to federal grants, contracts and leases.

DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” claimed $215 billion in total savings, including $49.2 billion from cancelled grants, $61 billion from contracts and $113 million from leases. The GAO could not verify the calculation or basis for 96% of reported grant savings, and found DOGE followed its own contract-savings methodology for only 27.5% of the reported amount; it also said lease savings were overstated. DOGE reportedly did not respond to requests for interviews or clarification.