The website for Elon Musk's Department of Government Accountability, the arm of the Trump administration making dramatic cuts to the federal government, may be taking credit for cuts it did not make, Lawfare reported Wednesday.
“Inaccuracies on DOGE’s website raise questions about DOGE’s activities and transparency,” writes Nick Bednar, an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School.
The DOGE website boasts an apparent $55 billion in government savings. It features a table showing where the cuts have been made, listing about $128,000 in savings in a category called “allowance to former presidents” with a location of Atlanta, Ga. “True termination — agency closed office,” the website reads.
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This location was being leased from “The Carter Center, Inc,” the late President Jimmy Carter’s nonprofit, Bednar found. The lease was likely terminated upon Carter’s death on Dec. 29, 2024.
“DOGE did not produce these ‘savings’ listed on its website,” Bednar writes.
One possible reason as to why this happened is that they could be pulling government data from other agencies’ websites.
This is not the only inaccuracy from the so-called “wall of receipts.” DOGE reported savings attributed to an $8 billion contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But the problem, the New York Times reported Wednesday, is that “the DOGE list vastly overstated the actual value of that contract.” In fact, the contract was $8 million.
READ MORE: Busted: DOGE took credit for canceling $8 billion contract — but it was really $8 million
“These potentially misleading line items raise concerns that the data provided by DOGE may not accurately describe what the agency does or how much it has saved,” Bednar writes. “If a more comprehensive audit reveals similar inaccuracies, keeping this data up could create a false impression for the public that DOGE has accomplished meaningful spending cuts. DOGE did not terminate at least some of the contracts and leases listed on its website. Even if DOGE played an active role in terminating some of these contracts, it may be overstating the value of its cuts.”
“The federal government generally terminates contracts and leases for benign and boring reasons. It receives goods and services from many private companies, and it regularly negotiates and terminates contracts with private companies. Simply put: Some spending cuts likely reflect business as usual,” he adds.