The Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) “Wall of Receipts” webpage contains inaccurate cost savings estimates and unsubstantiated claims, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
The Aug. 6 report, requested by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., revealed that DOGE failed to provide enough information to verify 96% of its claimed savings. As of July 7, 2026, the Wall of Receipts reported savings of $110 billion across contracts, grants, and leases.
“The data quality issues identified in this report limit the value of the Wall of Receipts to policymakers,” GAO said. “In addition, when government data are not reliable, it can hinder the public’s trust in government.”
GAO identified several issues limiting the transparency and reliability of DOGE’s reported savings.
For instance, GAO said that DOGE was not transparent regarding the methodologies used to calculate savings, and that it “did not use its stated methodology to calculate the majority of savings associated with the contracts reported as terminated.” The watchdog also said the Wall of Receipts does not explain how savings from terminated leases were calculated.
Additionally, GAO said the Wall of Receipts includes leases identified for termination before DOGE was established.
“Specifically, 108 of the 264 leases identified for termination on the Wall of Receipts, about $15.3 million of the total $53.5 million in savings, were already in process for termination when DOGE was established,” GAO said.
The watchdog added that the basis for some reported contract savings is unknown.
For example, GAO said DOGE claimed $1.7 billion in savings tied to a Department of Defense Defense Health Agency IT services contract covering more than 700 military treatment facilities worldwide. According to GAO, while DOGE initially identified the contract for termination, the contract ultimately was not terminated or reduced in scope, value, or funding, meaning no savings were realized.
GAO said that the Wall of Receipts webpage – which remains live as of Aug. 6 – does not disclose limitations affecting data quality sufficiently. The watchdog recommended that DOGE ensure that known data quality issues and limitations are prominently displayed on the Wall of Receipts.
GAO said DOGE “did not respond to GAO’s request for information or interviews.”
President Donald Trump created DOGE on the first day of his new administration via an executive order that rebranded the U.S. Digital Service as the U.S. DOGE Service, with a focus on modernizing federal government technology to improve efficiency and productivity. Trump tapped Elon Musk to lead the DOGE effort.
DOGE officially terminated on July 4, 2026, as outlined in the executive order. The White House said last month that it does not plan to issue a final report assessing the performance of DOGE, including its government-wide cost-cutting efforts.
“Everyone supports rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, but DOGE was a slapdash and deceptive effort that misled the American people while doing real damage to the government’s ability to serve them,” Peters said in a statement.
“Elon Musk and the Trump Administration claimed billions of dollars in savings it could not substantiate, took credit for work already underway, and refused to show its work, all while putting Americans’ sensitive data at risk and hollowing out critical agencies,” he added.