DOGE announces over $1,000 in savings per taxpayer after recent cuts

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, announced $165 billion in estimated savings from recent cuts.

According to the unit's official website, these savings result from a combination of "asset sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment elimination, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings and staff reductions."

Another detail provided by the site is that the million-dollar savings break down to approximately $1,025 per taxpayer, a figure calculated based on the more than 161 million individual federal taxpayers in the country.

More than 9,450 terminated contracts and 11,654 grant terminations

Currently, DOGE's "Wall of Receipts," available for public viewing, lists 9,497 terminated contracts, amounting to total savings of $32 billion.

Among these, the largest savings came from a canceled Department of the Interior contract for the Refugee Affluence Care Center, managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, valued at $2,902,177,561.72. The facility, which had a capacity of 3,000 unaccompanied minors, provided comprehensive child care and case management services, according to the case description.

DOGE's website also highlights 11,654 grant terminations, resulting in $37 billion in savings, along with 592 lease terminations that saved $291 million.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leads all agencies in generating savings, followed by the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Education, and the Office of Personnel Management. 

Agencies that "saved" the least

According to the DOGE report, the federal agencies generating the least savings include the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Department of Transportation.

Although the Department of Transportation ranks among the lowest, it still generates savings. DOGE recently commended the department and its leader, Secretary Sean Duffy, for canceling seven unnecessary grants worth $54 million, resulting in savings of $51 million.

These grants included $6 million for what DOGE described as "collaborative planning to address safety concerns for women and gender-nonconforming individuals," $12 million for "accelerating equitable decarbonization," and $6 million for addressing "inequities in hyperlocal pollution exposure" in New York City.