Associated Press
Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that the Trump administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows.
The Department of Government Efficiency run by Elon Musk last week published an initial list of 1,125 contracts that it terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 417 in all, are expected to yield no savings.
That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so.
“It’s like confiscating used ammunition after it’s been shot when there’s nothing left in it. It doesn’t accomplish any policy objective,” said Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and expert on government contracting law. “Their terminating so many contracts pointlessly obviously doesn’t accomplish anything for saving money.”
Dozens of them were for already-paid subscriptions to The Associated Press, Politico and other media services that the administration said it would discontinue. Others were for research studies that have been awarded, training that has taken place, software that has been purchased and interns that have come and gone.
An administration official said it made sense to cancel contracts that are seen as potential dead weight, even if the moves do not yield any savings. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In all, DOGE data says the 417 contracts in question had a total value of $478 million. Dozens of other canceled contracts are expected to yield little if any savings.
“It’s too late for the government to change its mind on many of these contracts and walk away from its payment obligation,” said Tiefer, who served on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tiefer said DOGE appeared to be taking a “slash and burn” approach to cutting contracts, which he said could damage the performance of government agencies. He said savings could be made instead by working with agency contracting officers and inspectors general to find efficiencies, an approach the administration has not taken.
DOGE says the overall contract cancellations are expected to save more than $7 billion so far, an amount that has been questioned as inflated by independent experts.
The canceled contracts were to purchase a wide range of goods and services.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a contract in September to purchase and install office furniture at various branches. While the contract does not expire until later this year, federal records show the agency had already agreed to spend the maximum $567,809 with a furniture company.
The U.S. Agency for International Development negotiated a $145,549 contract last year to clean the carpet at its headquarters in Washington. But the full amount had already been obligated to a firm that is owned by a Native American tribe based in Michigan.
Another already-spent $249,600 contract went to a Washington, D.C., firm to help prepare the Department of Transportation for the recent transition from the Biden to the Trump administration.
Some of the canceled contracts were intended to modernize and improve the way government works, which would seem to be at odds with DOGE’s cost-cutting mission.
One of the largest, for instance, went to a consulting firm to help carry out a reorganization at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which led the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The maximum $13.6 million had already been obligated to Deloitte Consulting for help with the restructuring, which included closing several research offices.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
20 comments
GeeWoo
February 25, 2025 at 8:14 am
Therefore 60% of the cancelled contracts will result in savings. Also, the 40% (quantity) seem to be small, single obligation contracts, whereas the 60% seem to be large, high-value contracts which have high expenditures still remaining. In sum, huge savings on crap we, the taxpayer, didn’t benefit from!
Martha Barton
February 28, 2025 at 4:56 pm
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Paul Passarelli
February 25, 2025 at 8:36 am
Even if the cancellation of these contracts results in no savings *THIS YEAR*, it prevents then from being automatically renewed NEXT YEAR!
WTF are the Democrats advocating for? Graft? Waste? Fraud? Abuse? WFT!!!
Tjb
February 25, 2025 at 10:47 am
Hello Mr. 0ne Percent.
Maybe the next time you run for office, you might get 2% of the vote and not 1%.
Oscar
February 25, 2025 at 9:33 am
Pretty pathetic attempt, AP. Canceled contracts won’t be renewed. Monies already paid can be recouped in some instances. Ridding government of ridiculous contracts and spending benefits taxpayers regardless. Some of the contracts “were intended to modernize and improve the way government works”…. Hilarious. Nice try though….
Scott M
February 25, 2025 at 9:34 am
Soooo…60% of the canceled USAID contracts will produce savings for the federal government (and by extension, the American people)? That’s still pretty good math.
The overall tone of this article seems to be, why bother. That kind of thinking is what helped get us in the position we are in…It’s ONLY a million dollar contract in a $7 TRILLION budget, not worth going through the hassle of cutting it. 20 years later and thousands of contracts just like that and we end up with a bloated federal budget and $32 TRILLION in debt.
Michael K
February 25, 2025 at 9:38 am
It’s all another circus show. Slash and burn is not a serious strategy. Terrorizing and intimidating a workforce does not build trust, or bring out the best in employees. Letting a bunch of interns loose in agencies they know nothing about is wreckless and danergerous.
And don’t forget, the whole “DOGE” meme is promoting an alternative crypto coin meant as a joke – just more grifting.
The Republicans who have held Town Halls are getting an earful from constituents. And once folks realize this is really about giving more tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of working people, there will be consequences.
Oscar
February 25, 2025 at 9:42 am
“ Terrorizing and intimidating”…. LMAO. Spoken like a true bedwetting leftist. Go back to your safe space, coloring books and soy latte…. If government workers are terrorized and intimidated by an email, then they are too pathetic to have taxpayer funded jobs…
JD
February 25, 2025 at 10:01 am
So, no logical rebuttal, just insults? If that’s all you’ve got, move along.
Looking at your posts, I’d wager you’re either Billy-Boy under a different name or a paid shill. If you have a real counterargument, bring it, otherwise, spare us the nonsense.
Creating fear among workers doesn’t boost productivity; it leads to an exodus and brain drain. The best employees have already left or are leaving. AI won’t be the magic solution Musk claims, it has limits, and I’ve worked with it long enough to know.
The pushback at town halls is real, no matter how much propaganda tries to spin it otherwise. Watch full, unedited videos from attendees, not just curated news clips.
Your troupes have been seen before, and probably will be seen again. Good luck on the forum, ‘Oscar’.
Michael K
February 25, 2025 at 6:32 pm
That’s Little Miss Spoke – they of multiple personalities and queen of whatbaboutism.
Oscar
February 26, 2025 at 7:34 pm
Democrats failed. Big government failed. Democratic socialism failed. Government bureaucrats failed. So-called experts failed. After decades of fleecing taxpayers all will be unemployed. None have marketable skills. A few paid agitators don’t represent even .001% of the people that voted for Trump.
Victoria Olson
March 1, 2025 at 1:28 pm
You haven’t a clue of what is going on but just making stupid comments…you can’t fix stupid but maybe stop listening to Fox news might help
Wendy
March 4, 2025 at 6:33 pm
Looks like Oscar hit a nerve! Let me guess you’re an unmarried middle-age woman with nothing better to do with your time than whine and wince!
Skeptic
February 25, 2025 at 10:02 am
Missing from any and all discussion is what services will not be provided to members of the American public in exchange for the attention that this attention starved administration craves. Yes, as every family knows, you can stop buying food, but if you do, your children may starve. So it would be good to know what (besides eggs and border security) the citizens of this country will no longer buy (and please spare the lame MAGA mental midget caricatures).
Michael K
February 25, 2025 at 10:03 am
Funny thing is: There is no evidence of fraud or abuse. None.
Fun fact: Every federal agency has (had) an Inspector General who investigates fraud. They were the first people to be let go – in violation of Congressional laws – by the incoming administration.
Wendy
March 4, 2025 at 6:34 pm
Not a smidge! Is that you Barry Obama? Back of the bus for you!
PeterH
February 25, 2025 at 11:09 am
It’s only been five weeks and the American electorate has soured on the indiscriminate, irresponsible, reckless and often dangerous use of presidential power……that is accomplishing absolutely nothing. This “let’s try it and see what happens” …. will save no money and will severely exacerbate an environment of fiscal uncertainty as reflected in poor investor market confidence.
Oscar
February 27, 2025 at 9:01 pm
Hilarious. You mean after four years of nonstop indiscriminate, irresponsible, reckless and often dangerous (not to mention utterly unconstitutional) use of presidential power by the Biden criminal family and their progressive co-conspirators?
Michael K
February 25, 2025 at 3:50 pm
The top five “cuts” touted by Musk last week were deleted after the NYT and other news outlets discovered multiple errors and outright lies on the original list.
And 21 digital IT team members resigned, refusing to be complicit with Musk’s
handling and improper access sensitive data.
Skeptic
February 25, 2025 at 10:10 pm
I like a good game of Jenga, just not with people’s lives and livelihoods.
Comments are closed.