The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) introduced an “Agency Efficiency Leaderboard” on Tuesday morning, highlighting government agencies that have achieved the most significant cost reductions through canceled contracts and other financial efficiency measures.
DOGE, under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk, who also serves as a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, reported total estimated savings of $65 billion as of Monday.
According to DOGE, these savings stem from various actions, including fraud detection and elimination, renegotiation or termination of contracts and leases, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, regulatory savings, and program adjustments, reports Fox Business.
“We are committed to making all of this data accessible in a clear and transparent format, ensuring our assumptions are well-documented and aligned with applicable rules and regulations,” DOGE stated on its website.
The department has compiled a list of publicly available contracts from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). However, DOGE noted that final termination notices in FPDS may take up to a month to appear.
“There may be discrepancies between the figures posted on FPDS and the numbers we have provided, as our data comes directly from agency contracting officials,” the department explained.
Leading the “Agency Efficiency Leaderboard” in cost savings are the Department of Education, General Services Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Labor, and Office of Personnel Management.
Former Department of Defense official Steve Simoni believes it’s “unsurprising” that DOGE may now focus on the Pentagon to identify inefficiencies, predicting that the Musk-led initiative will uncover substantial wasteful spending.
“When I worked at the Department of Defense, we were paying $10,000 for ‘ruggedized’ HDMI cables that could have been purchased for $20 or $30 at a retail store like Best Buy,” Simoni recalled. “We need to improve spending efficiency, especially given the growing threat of drone warfare on modern battlefields. The new administration, along with Secretary [Pete] Hegeth, recognizes this challenge.”
As a former Navy nuclear engineer, Simoni suggested that funds recovered through DOGE’s efforts could be redirected to modernizing military technology, particularly for counter-drone advancements.
On the other end of the spectrum, agencies with the lowest reported savings include the Department of State, National Institutes of Health, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and Department of Commerce, according to DOGE.
The usual suspect departments. Go figure. Maybe we should be doubling Musks DOGE forces.