Article Author: Aaron Wood

Source: Cointelegraph

Article Compiled by: Ada, MetaEra

Recently, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced that it has saved American taxpayers $55 billion, but an anonymous cryptocurrency detective named Momentum Chaser has questioned its claims, demanding the agency revise its data—this is the latest in a series of dramatic events affecting Americans.

DOGE, led by Tesla founder Elon Musk, currently shows on its website that they have cut $55 billion in spending for the federal government and downsized certain agencies. However, according to Momentum Chaser, the actual reduction figure is much lower.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that 20% of the "savings" from DOGE could be directly paid to American taxpayers, while another 20% would be used to pay down the national debt.

News outlets such as The New York Times and The Huffington Post have also criticized DOGE's data. Although DOGE's data has been modified, it still insists that its final budget cut amount is $55 billion—this has led observers to begin questioning how credible this department, responsible for reducing government waste, really is.

DOGE's Reduction Amount Lower Than Reported Levels

After the temporary committee was established, Musk immediately set out to identify and cut what he believed were areas of waste in the federal government.

Musk stated that he expected to cut about $2 trillion from the federal budget at a rate of $4 billion per day. So far, the agency has reported that it has cut about $55 billion.

The idea of "DOGE dividends" originally came from James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, who is reportedly an external advisor to DOGE and proposed the idea on X. The plan would distribute $2 trillion to about "79 million taxpayer households," which are "net taxpayers" of income tax, with each household ultimately receiving about $5,000 in dividends.

On the surface, it seems that within the first 30 days of the Trump administration, $55 billion was saved, and DOGE appears to be on track to achieve the $2 trillion goal, but some are skeptical about whether the organization accurately reported its savings.

X user Momentum Chaser pointed out several calculation errors in DOGE's report. The first was a $8 million Department of Homeland Security contract that was incorrectly reported as $8 billion.

Another large project showed that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) seemed to have nearly $2 billion spread across three contracts of $655 million each (USAID was one of the first agencies targeted by DOGE).

However, it was reported that DOGE also made an error in calculating this item: it was an Indefinite Delivery Vehicle (IDV), not a regular contract. The amount was counted three times—totaling $655 million, while the actual awarded amount was only $73 million.

The user also listed several other examples, which were updated the next day on the DOGE website to reflect the correct amounts. However, the total of $55 billion remained unchanged—this discrepancy was also noted by The New York Times.

Controversial Cuts Disrupt Government Services

Given the scope and pace of DOGE's operations, as well as the legal controversies sparked by its activities, these accounting inconsistencies are particularly concerning.

Due to DOGE cutting many services and funding that many consider essential, approximately 14 states in the U.S. filed for injunctions against the agency, but were denied by a federal judge.

According to the Associated Press, DOGE laid off over 1,000 employees in the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides healthcare and other support for American veterans, including researchers working on "cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics, and burn pit exposure" studies.

It also laid off specialists in special education and student aid from the Department of Education, including cutting the budget of the Institute of Education Sciences (a department responsible for tracking student progress) by $900 million.

Additionally, many claim that these cuts are misguided, reflecting Musk's personal grievances against certain government agencies.

As the controversy escalated, the White House felt it necessary to clarify Musk's role. On February 17, the White House issued a statement saying that Musk is a special advisor to the president, not a DOGE employee, and does not have decision-making authority.

Just two days later, Trump seemed to contradict his own administration. Reuters reported that he told a crowd in Miami, "I signed an order to establish the Department of Government Efficiency and appointed a guy named Elon Musk to run it."

Setting aside the controversies and accounting inconsistencies, DOGE does not seem to be slowing down, with reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will be its next regulatory target.