Less than half of DOGE-terminated contracts can be publicly tracked, only about a quarter of grants: watchdog

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With Elon Musk's departure from the agency, there's debate roiling over how effective the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE), has been in its mission.

In a report released just one day prior to Musk stepping down, financial watchdog Open The Books published a report finding it is likely impossible for the average American taxpayer to track the savings associated with the contracts and grants that were terminated by the DOGE team.

According to Open The Books' analysis, which mined all the data published on DOGE's official website, the average American taxpayer would likely only be able to confirm 42% of contracts and 27% of grants through an independent review of public federal spending databases.

"This doesn't mean these targets aren't real, it simply means it's very hard for taxpayers who want to see additional savings to find proof and evidence of savings," Open The Books points out in its analysis, shared in a report the group released Tuesday.

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"Because taxpayers don't have access to real-time transparency and a real-time look at the Treasury Payment System, it's still too difficult for even a highly motivated Joe Taxpayer to confirm the savings claims DOGE is making," the analysis, released ahead of Elon Musk stepping down from running the agency, continued. "It's also far too easy for critics to sew [sic] doubt and confusion."

DOGE says on its website that the group's work up to this point has provided the American taxpayer with $175 billion in "estimated" savings from the elimination of contracts, grants and leases, as well as through renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion and other mechanisms. 

However, DOGE's estimated savings have been contested by watchdog groups and budget experts. Such critics have posited that the inclusion of already canceled contracts, double-counting or misrepresentation of contract values, and the unaccounted cost burden that could be imposed on the government when it has to re-hire folks down the line, or revamp its productivity, due to DOGE cuts, have led to inflated savings estimates. 

Nate Malkus, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, has accused DOGE of "overestimating contracts by a factor of two," according to CBS News.

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But White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital that DOGE has produced "historic savings" for the American people.

"DOGE is working at record speed to cut waste, fraud, and abuse, producing historic savings for the American people," Fields said. "The DOGE Wall of Receipts provides the latest and most accurate information following a thorough assessment, which takes time. Updates to the DOGE savings page will continue to be made promptly, and departments and agencies will keep highlighting the massive savings DOGE is achieving."

"DOGE and Elon Musk have done the country an incredible service by identifying savings targets," added Open The Books CEO John Hart. "Having worked on the last major deficit commission with the late Senator Tom Coburn, we would have been elated to have had Musk in our corner. Now it's up to Congress to not only turn DOGE's recommendations into durable savings but to go beyond DOGE's scope and truly tackle our long-term debt and deficit crisis."

Open The Books highlighted two "common sense" standards to help establish an "intellectually honest" approach to understanding the true impact of government cuts, such as those being recommended by DOGE.

The first is the "durable standard," which asks whether a proposed cut can be easily reversed.

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"Describing something as 'durable' does not mean it is permanent or irreversible; it simply means it is hard to reverse," the Open The Books' analysis stated. "The most durable budget cut in our constitutional system would be passed by Congress, signed into law by the president and be clearly constitutional, or unassailable in a court challenge. Budget cuts become less durable when they lack any of these three elements."

The second is called a "duty standard," which illuminates the power behind certain cuts based on who is trying to impose them.

"In our constitutional system, the founders gave the job of budget savings to three branches but primarily to Congress," Open The Books points out. "DOGE's job is to identify, not enact, savings targets. It's up to Congress to do the heavy lifting. And We the People have a responsibility to be informed and hold our elected officials accountable."

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Open The Books ultimately concluded that due to various limitations associated with publicly available data on government spending and revenue, in particular a lack of real-time access to the government's Treasury Payment System, it is still too difficult for even the most motivated average American citizen to either confirm, or deny, the savings claimed by DOGE.

Elon Musk officially stepped down from his role as DOGE chief Wednesday evening, as his position of "special government employee" in the Trump administration was limited by law to a few months. Amid the transition, Musk criticized Republicans' spending bill that was passed ahead of Memorial Day in the House, indicating he was "disappointed" it would increase the federal deficit. 

"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk told CBS News in an interview that will air in full on June 1.