DOGE Cancels 55 Wasteful Contracts Valued at $863 Million in Past 5 Days

DOGE has estimated total savings of more than $214 billion since its creation, an amount it says equates to roughly $1,329 per taxpayer.

By Tom Ozimek The Epoch Times

Another cancellation involved a $4.5 million Health and Human Services (HHS) consulting contract for the “coordination of quality and public reporting programs and websites.”

The latest action builds on a series of contract terminations announced by DOGE in recent weeks, as the Trump administration continues its push to reduce federal spending and shrink the federal workforce.

Earlier this month, DOGE said agencies had terminated or reduced 43 contracts with a ceiling value of $3.5 billion, yielding savings of $222 million.

Those included a $4.3 million Treasury Department IT contract to “develop a comprehensive strategic narrative and management approach aimed at the Human Centered Transformation and Enhanced Partnerships” and a $29 million Commerce Department consulting contract for program management services.

DOGE has estimated total savings of more than $214 billion since its creation, an amount it says equates to roughly $1,329 per taxpayer. The task force attributes the savings to a mix of asset sales, workforce reductions, interest savings, regulatory changes, grant cancellations, and the elimination of fraud and improper payments.

The HHS has accounted for the largest share of savings under DOGE, followed by the General Services Administration, the Social Security Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Small Business Administration, according to the task force.

The contract terminations come amid broader federal workforce reductions, part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to cut bureaucratic bloat, make government operations more efficient, and save taxpayer resources.

DOGE recently reposted a Dec. 16 statement from the Trump communications team saying federal employment had fallen to its lowest level since 2014, down by 271,000 jobs since Trump returned to office.

“Promises made, promises kept,” the post said.

Meanwhile, DOGE has repeatedly pushed back against reports suggesting the initiative has been dismantled or sidelined.

In November, the task force labeled a Reuters report claiming DOGE “doesn’t exist” as “fake news,” stating that voters in the 2024 election gave the Trump administration a mandate to modernize government operations and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.

Former DOGE head Elon Musk, who served as a special government employee until May, said in an October interview with podcaster Joe Rogan that the initiative has continued its work even though it has drawn less public attention since his departure.

DOGE was established by executive order and is due to sunset in July 2026. While its website has not been updated since early October, the task force has continued to issue periodic contract and savings updates through social media, highlighting what it calls ongoing efforts to rein in federal spending and improve efficiency across government agencies.

In a recent post, DOGE praised the efforts of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who announced plans for a similar efficiency- and cost-cutting initiative at the international agency.

“We are ‘DOGE-ing’ the United Nations,” Waltz said in a Dec. 17 social media post, announcing plans to cut U.N. staffing by around 2,600 and slash its budget by 15 percent in the first year of the initiative.

“It’s time for the UN to get back to basics: stopping wars and preventing conflict, NOT funding bloated bureaucracy on the American taxpayer’s dime,” he wrote.

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