The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The report cites $84 billion in savings as a result of GAO recommendations over the past two years, but the watchdog adds that "the progress made overall varied."
The watchdog added a new section this year dedicated to federal disaster assistance in the wake of California wildfires and back-to-back hurricanes that pounded the Southeast over the past several months.
GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding the report.
Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has billed the report as a "roadmap" provided to the Trump administration and DOGE, led by Elon Musk, to "take on the runaway federal bureaucracy."
"Despite GAO’s recommendations to protect taxpayers and their comprehensive reports released each year, bloated federal programs continue to squander taxpayer funds and fail to meet basic objectives. Americans are tired of the federal government failing its report card and demand action," Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement last week. "Americans are demanding action and President Trump, DOGE, and Republicans in Congress are delivering on that promise."
President Donald Trump and DOGE head Elon Musk sat down with Fox News host Sean Hannity for their first joint interview. (Fox News)
Other GAO recommendations include reducing "billions in significant improper payments and fraud." The watchdog said areas on the high-risk list include programs that represented about 80% of the total government-wide reported improper payment estimate, including "two of the fastest-growing programs – Medicare and Medicaid – as well as the unemployment insurance system and the Earned Income Tax Credit."
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The recommendations also call for greater federal efforts "to better understand the status of private sector technological developments with cybersecurity implications – such as artificial intelligence – and to continue to enhance public and private sector coordination." The GAO also stressed how the "federal government spends more than $100 billion annually on IT, with the vast majority of this spent on operations and maintenance of existing systems rather than new technology."
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-watchdog-releases-first-doge-era-report-detailing-areas-government-prone-fraud-waste-abuse