Overview
- Speaking on the Katie Miller podcast, Elon Musk said the cost-cutting office he led was only “a little bit” successful and that he would not repeat the role.
- The Office of Personnel Management has said DOGE disbanded months before its mandate ended and no longer has centralized leadership.
- Outside experts say the unit provided no detailed public accounting, leaving its claims of tens of billions in savings unverified.
- Press reviews found key boasts overstated, with the New York Times reporting a claimed $8 billion ICE cut later revised to $8 million and a $655 million USAID cut revised to $18 million.
- Musk’s initial projection of up to $2 trillion in cuts was later trimmed to roughly $150 billion for fiscal 2026, while independent analyses verified about $1.4 billion in contract cancellations.