Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency says it has saved over $100 billion, but only a few departments showed any spending cuts in the first month of the new administration. In fact, spending went up by $40 billion compared to the same month last year, a 7% increase, a report by Financial Times said.
Despite Musk’s efforts to improve efficiency, US federal spending reached a record $603 billion last month, according to new data from the Treasury, reported Financial Times. This shows that the Trump administration struggled to make big cuts to government spending.
The new data comes after Musk and his team at DOGE have infiltrated several government agencies, including the state and health departments, and various arms of the Treasury, the FT report said. Thousands of workers have been suspended or fired, and many government grants and contracts have been cancelled.
Musk’s false claims
Musk has claimed that DOGE is on track to save $1 trillion from the annual federal budget and that the program is currently cutting $4 billion a day. However, the February Treasury report showed that most areas haven’t seen big cuts, the Financial Times report said. The Department of Education, for example, reduced spending by $6 billion.
The report further said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also managed a spending cut at the US Agency for International Development. Its monthly spending was reduced from $547 million last year to $226 million this year. His department’s main budget also dropped from $1.7 billion to $1.6 billion.
However, these savings were small compared to the rise in other areas. Healthcare spending went up by 3%, adding $5 billion, and social security costs rose by 6%, adding $8 billion, the report added.
The Financial Times further said that the Treasury’s own spending also increased by $29 billion compared to the same month last year. This was mostly because debt payments went up by $10 billion, reaching $86 billion, and tax credits and related payments increased by $14 billion.