Elon Musk (LEFT) has been a controversial figure in the Trump administration, with many of his critics arguing he has wielded too much power in the Trump administration. (Getty)
"Because taxpayers don’t have access to real-time transparency and a real-time look at the Treasury Payment System, it’s still too difficult for even a highly motivated Joe Taxpayer to confirm the savings claims DOGE is making," the analysis, released ahead of Elon Musk stepping down from running the agency, continued. "It’s also far too easy for critics to sew [sic] doubt and confusion."
DOGE says on its website that the group's work up to this point has provided the American taxpayer with $175 billion in "estimated" savings from the elimination of contracts, grants and leases, as well as through renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion and other mechanisms.
However, DOGE's estimated savings have been contested by watchdog groups and budget experts. Such critics have posited that the inclusion of already canceled contracts, double-counting or misrepresentation of contract values, and the unaccounted cost burden that could be imposed on the government when it has to re-hire folks down the line, or revamp its productivity, due to DOGE cuts, have led to inflated savings estimates.
Nate Malkus, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, has accused DOGE of "overestimating contracts by a factor of two," according to CBS News.
ELON MUSK 'DISAPPOINTED' BY TRUMP'S SPENDING BILL, SAYS IT UNDERMINES WHAT DOGE IS DOING
But White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital that DOGE has produced "historic savings" for the American people.
"DOGE is working at record speed to cut waste, fraud, and abuse, producing historic savings for the American people," Fields said. "The DOGE Wall of Receipts provides the latest and most accurate information following a thorough assessment, which takes time. Updates to the DOGE savings page will continue to be made promptly, and departments and agencies will keep highlighting the massive savings DOGE is achieving."
White House Senior Advisor Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) on Mar. 9, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Open The Books ultimately concluded that due to various limitations associated with publicly available data on government spending and revenue, in particular a lack of real-time access to the government's Treasury Payment System, it is still too difficult for even the most motivated average American citizen to either confirm, or deny, the savings claimed by DOGE.
Elon Musk officially stepped down from his role as DOGE chief Thursday evening, as his position of "special government employee" in the Trump administration was limited by law to a few months. Amid the transition, Musk criticized Republicans' spending bill that was passed ahead of Memorial Day in the House, indicating he was "disappointed" it would increase the federal deficit.
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"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk told CBS News in an interview that will air in full on June 1.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/less-than-half-doge-terminated-contracts-can-publicly-tracked-only-about-quarter-grants-watchdog