More than 100 government contracts trimmed in the past five days will save taxpayers $103 million, according to the Department of Government Efficiency.
Agencies terminated and scaled back 103 contracts with a ceiling value of $4.4 billion and savings of $103 million, DOGE said in a social media post Saturday. The savings amount to slightly more than 2% of the total value of the contracts.
The cuts include a “$13.4M [Veterans Affairs] consulting contract for ’coaching support and dashboard services’, a $43k State Dept. educational training contract for ’crucial influence and getting things done courses’, and a $44k State Dept. educational training contract for ’crucial conversations and power of habit courses,’” the department said.
The government efficiency agency said it has saved an estimated $214 billion through a combination of asset sales, contract and grant cancellations, fraud and improper payment deletion and workforce reductions, among other moves.
More than $328 million of $378 million in total contracts through the State Department has been saved, according to the DOGE website. The department’s total budget was $37 billion over the 2024 fiscal year.
The latest DOGE update comes after an Oct. 26 social media post that said 97 contracts with a ceiling value of $2.3 billion were scaled back, reaping $160 million in savings.
Those cuts included an $8.7 million broadcasting contract from the U.S. Agency for Global Media for “FM and television broadcast operations in Iraq, Libya, and Chad” and a $19.5 million Department of Health and Human Services contract for “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training.”
DOGE is also scrutinizing federal food aid amid the government shutdown, which reached its 35th day on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Fox News that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, is “a broken and corrupt program.”
She said that she told every state to send SNAP data to authorities, including DOGE, to ensure illegal immigrants were not using the program.
“Twenty-nine states stepped up. Twenty-one blue states refused — and two SUED US FOR ASKING! And guess what? In just the states that cooperated, we’ve already uncovered massive fraud,” she said in a social media post Sunday.
Dozens of states announced last week that they are suing the Trump administration to force it to fund food stamps despite the ongoing government shutdown. After a judge’s ruling, the administration said Monday that it will pay out 50% of food stamp benefits this month.
“There’s a new sheriff in town. @POTUS will not tolerate waste, fraud, or abuse while hardworking Americans go hungry,” Ms. Rollins said.
