Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that President Donald Trump’s administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, as the administration’s own data reveals.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Trump adviser Elon Musk, recently published an initial list of 1,125 contracts terminated across the federal government. Data from DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” indicates that more than one-third of these cancellations, 417 in total, are anticipated to yield no savings.
This lack of savings is often due to the fact that the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, meaning the government is legally bound to spend the funds on the goods or services it purchased, with many expenditures already completed.
“It’s like confiscating used ammunition after it’s been shot when there’s nothing left in it. It doesn’t accomplish any policy objective,” commented Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and expert on government contracting law. He criticized the administration’s approach, noting that terminating so many contracts without purpose fails to achieve any cost-saving goals.
Among the canceled contracts were already-paid subscriptions to media services such as The Associated Press and Politico, which the Republican administration stated it would discontinue. Additional cancellations included research studies, completed training sessions, purchased software, and internships.
An anonymous administration official defended the decision to cancel contracts perceived as potential dead weight, despite the lack of savings. This official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
In total, DOGE data reports that the 417 contracts in question had a combined value of $478 million. Many other canceled contracts are expected to produce minimal savings, if any.
“It’s too late for the government to change its mind on many of these contracts and walk away from its payment obligation,” explained Tiefer, who previously served on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tiefer suggested that DOGE’s aggressive “slash and burn” approach to cutting contracts could harm the performance of government agencies. He proposed that savings could instead be realized by collaborating with agency contracting officers and inspectors general to identify efficiencies, an approach the administration has not adopted.
The Trump administration claims it is targeting fraud, waste, and abuse within the government. DOGE asserts that the overall contract cancellations are projected to save more than $7 billion, a figure that independent experts have questioned as potentially inflated.
The canceled contracts encompassed a diverse array of goods and services. For example, the Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a contract in September to purchase and install office furniture at various branches. Although the contract does not expire until later this year, federal records show that the agency had already committed to spending the maximum $567,809 with a furniture company.
Similarly, the U.S. Agency for International Development had negotiated a $145,549 contract to clean the carpet at its Washington headquarters. However, the full amount had already been allocated to a firm owned by a Native American tribe based in Michigan.
Another contract, valued at $249,600, was awarded to a Washington, D.C., firm to assist the Department of Transportation in preparing for the transition from President Joe Biden’s administration to Trump’s.
Some of the canceled contracts aimed to modernize and improve the efficiency of government operations, seemingly contradicting DOGE’s cost-cutting mission. One of the largest contracts was awarded to a consulting firm to aid in a reorganization at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. The maximum $13.6 million had already been obligated to Deloitte Consulting LLP to assist with restructuring, which included closing several research offices.
Reporter Foley contributed from Iowa City, Iowa.
