‘No, we didn’t’: DOGE staffer admits Elon Musk’s cost-cutting agency failed to reduce the federal deficit

Photo: President Donald Trump participates in a press conference with departing DOGE adviser Elon Musk, Friday, May 30, 2025, in the Oval Office. Photo credit: Official White House photo by Molly Riley via Flickr. US government work. Article by Sasha Rogelberg. Yahoo Finance – March 16, 2026. Article originally published by Fortune. Video depositions of DOGE staffers: Internet Archive.

In its early days, the Elon Musk–led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) bragged it could cut up to $2 trillion from the U.S. federal budget. In December, Musk conceded the special advisory saved only $200 billion in “zombie payments” for canceled contracts or fraudulent unemployment claims. But a recent estimation of DOGE’s overall impact indicated any savings it found did little, if anything, for the deficit. […]

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Video: DOGE Lead admits all of their firings did nothing to reduce federal deficit – The Independent

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