Turns Out, Trump and DOGE Haven’t Actually Saved Any Money
Donald Trump and Elon Musk
claim they’re saving billions through the Department of Government Efficiency’s mass purge of federal bureaucracy, but government spending has actually gone up since Inauguration Day.
According to an
analysis published Wednesday by Reuters, the Trump administration spent $710 billion between January 21 and February 20, nearly a billion more than Joe Biden spent in a similar time period last year.
The majority of that spending has gone to health and retirement programs, as well as interest payments, apparently more important investments than
Medicare,
global health, and
air travel safety, all of which have faced or will face drastic cuts.
Through the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk has fired over
20,000 federal workers and gutted a number of federal agencies, most notably the U.S. Agency for International Development, which spent $42 billion in 2023. The cuts are part of Musk’s goal to reduce the federal deficit by $1 trillion by 2026, a likely impossible feat, especially given the administration’s newly revealed spending habits.
Unsurprisingly, many of DOGE’s claims have been
exaggerated or fraudulent. The department claimed to have cut an $8 billion ICE contract—the real amount was $8 million,
The New York Times reported. An
analysis from
The Washington Post found that hundreds of contracts DOGE claimed to cancel were actually already finished, resulting in absolutely zero savings.
DOGE is now facing a number of legal challenges and intense
backlash from the GOP.
Government spending has continued.
newrepublic.com
shocking!
