WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 9: 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 March 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump was returning to the White House after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Washington D.C. – A new government department led by Elon Musk claims it has saved taxpayers over $130 billion in just two months—but critics say the numbers don’t add up.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created to streamline federal spending, has spearheaded mass layoffs, program cuts, and contract cancellations across multiple agencies. According to its website, DOGE’s efforts have saved roughly $807 per taxpayer by slashing wasteful spending. The biggest cuts include thousands of layoffs at the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Education, and Department of Veterans Affairs.
But experts warn these so-called savings might not be what they seem.
“These numbers demand intense scrutiny,” said Michael Ryan, founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com. “They’ve heavily relied on calculating savings based on the maximum possible spending under certain contracts, not realistic expenditures. Add triple-counting and taking credit for contracts ended years ago, and the foundation looks shaky.”
Since its launch, DOGE has overseen the termination of 300,000 government jobs, including 18,000 IRS employees, 1,300 Department of Education workers, and 80,000 VA positions. While Musk initially promised to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, he later revised his goal to $1 trillion, stating in January there was a “good shot” at achieving half that amount.
President Trump’s February 11 executive order directed agencies to prepare for “large-scale reductions in force,” triggering layoffs that some experts believe could backfire. Kevin Thompson, CEO of 9i Capital Group, pointed out that while layoffs provide immediate financial relief, they don’t necessarily translate to long-term savings.
“DOGE is operating the only way it knows how: like a business. But cutting 300,000 W-2 government employees doesn’t mean those costs disappear,” Thompson said. “Many were at or near retirement age, shifting them into different long-term financial liabilities.”
The biggest concern? Cutting IRS jobs could actually cost the government money.
“The IRS has halted complex audits on high-value targets just to keep basic operations running,” Ryan explained. “Saving taxpayer money requires prudence, not just a hatchet. What we’re seeing with DOGE, particularly with IRS cuts, feels like stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. No, let me correct that—it’s like setting the dollar pile on fire to grab a few pennies.”
Meanwhile, the near-total dismantling of the Department of Education has left millions of student loan borrowers in limbo, waiting to see how repayment programs will be handled.
While DOGE insists its cuts will reduce government inefficiencies, financial experts warn that the real impact won’t be clear for years. Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, said many government contracts DOGE claims to have “ended” were actually paid in full.
“In other words, it’s going to take many additional months and even years of data to see the real savings DOGE has enacted,” Beene said.
For now, the numbers remain murky, and the cost of these cuts—both financial and functional—remains to be seen.
