Overview
- Sen. Thom Tillis pressed OMB Director Russell Vought during a July 16 Senate Banking Committee hearing for specific, auditable examples of savings that the Department of Government Efficiency said it delivered.
- Vought responded that he did not run DOGE, told the senator “I am not DOGE,” and pointed to the administration’s budget submission that lists roughly $160 billion in DOGE‑related savings.
- Independent reporting cited at the hearing found a large verification gap: DOGE claimed $52.8 billion in contract‑cancellation savings, Politico verified $32.7 billion of those claims, and estimated actual, demonstrable savings near $1.4 billion.
- Tillis described DOGE’s bookkeeping and personnel moves as ‘amateurish,’ demanded that each claimed saving show before‑and‑after net savings and run‑rate impact, and asked OMB for a detailed briefing on how savings are booked into budgets.
- Coverage of the exchange varied by outlet with centrist reporting focusing on procedural gaps and left‑leaning outlets highlighting Tillis’s sharp rebuke and the broader credibility questions dogging the administration’s efficiency claims.