Federal Spending: DOGE Savings Claims Were Sometimes Inaccurate and Unsupported
Reporting cited here
- documented
As of GAO's August 6, 2026 review of the wall's July 7 claims, the public ledger did not provide reliable support for its claimed savings and the displayed category total fell far short of Trump's term-long 'trillions' promise; no defensible net savings total can be derived from the wall.
Highlights and findings on contract, grant, and lease claimsThe Savings That Wouldn't Audit — Audit finding · Cited analysis
- documented
As of GAO's August 6, 2026 review of the wall's July 7 claims, the public ledger did not provide reliable support for its claimed savings and the displayed category total fell far short of Trump's term-long 'trillions' promise; no defensible net savings total can be derived from the wall.
Selected contract and lease examplesThe Savings That Wouldn't Audit — Audit finding · Cited analysis
- documented
GAO found a roughly $1.7 billion Defense contract listed as a saving even though the contract had not been terminated and no saving occurred; it also found that 108 of 264 listed leases were already scheduled to end.
Selected contract and lease examplesThe Savings That Wouldn't Audit — Counterevidence · Counterevidence
- documented
GAO reported that the wall attributed $110 billion to contract, grant, and lease savings as of July 7, 2026, but found multiple entries incorrect or unsupported.
Highlights and findings on contract, grant, and lease claims