The new information comes after Musk and his representatives at DOGE infiltrated multiple government ministries, including the state and health departments, and several Treasury branches. As part of their efforts, tens of thousands of employees have been suspended or dismissed and thousands of government grants and contracts have been terminated.
The Tesla CEO, who has come to be viewed as number 2 in the Trump administration, has stated that DOGE is on track to make $1 trillion worth of savings from the annual federal budget.He said that DOGE was identifying cuts at a rate of $4 billion per day, the FT report added.
However, the latest Monthly Treasury Statement for February revealed that few categories have seen significant decreases, with the Department of Education managing to cut its spending by $6 billion.
According to the Treasury Department’s monthly statement for February, defence spending remained stagnant over the year at $61.4 billion.
Jessica Riedl from the Manhattan Institute think tank, who has been analysing the initiative’s efforts, stated that these savings were relatively small and didn’t significantly impact the overall spending totals.
The new data also highlight the difficulty in having an impact by focusing on measures that can garner widespread support from Republican lawmakers.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw a reduction in expenditure at the US Agency for International Development, whose monthly budget was reported to have been reduced in half to $226 million, down from $547 million the same month the previous year. The primary budget for his department was reduced from $1.7 billion to $1.6 billion.
These savings were a consequence of a 3% increase in monthly healthcare expenses, costing an additional $5 billion. A 6% increase in social security spending cost an additional $8 billion.
The Treasury’s direct spending increased by $29 billion since the same month last year, owing mostly to a $10 billion increase in monthly debt servicing to $86 billion and a $14 billion increase in tax credits and related payments.
Earlier, the House of Representatives passed legislation to extend spending at current levels until September. Trump has also restricted some of DOGE’s activities, urging Musk to use a ‘scalpel’ rather than a ‘hatchet’.
Federal judges have also halted or reversed many of DOGE’s actions.
Despite the challenges, Musk remains committed to his goal. He announced plans to intensify DOGE’s efforts and target large sources of expenditure, such as social security.
