DOGE Claimed It Saved $8 Billion in One Contract. It Was Actually $8 Million.

The biggest single line item on the website of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team appears to include an error.

By Aatish BhatiaJosh KatzMargot Sanger-Katz and Ethan Singer
The four reporters discovered the discrepancy after downloading the data and scrutinizing the largest of 1,127 items.
Feb. 18, 2025

The Department of Government Efficiency, the federal cost-cutting initiative championed by Elon Musk, published on Monday a list of government contracts it has canceled, together amounting to about $16 billion in savings itemized on a new “wall of receipts” on its website.

Almost half of those line-item savings could be attributed to a single $8 billion contract for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. But it appears that the DOGE list vastly overstated the actual intended value of that contract. A closer scrutiny of a federal database shows that a recent version of the contract was for $8 million, not $8 billion. A larger total savings number published on the site, $55 billion, lacked specific documentation.

The contract, with a company called D&G Support Services, was to provide “program and technical support services” for the Office of Diversity and Civil Rights at ICE. The Trump administration has been purging diversity programs from the federal government.

By examining past versions of the contract listed on the Federal Procurement Data System, The Upshot determined that the federal award, approved in September 2022, had initially listed a total value of $8 billion. But on Jan. 22 this year, that figure was updated to $8 million. According to the database, the contract was terminated about a week later. (For context, $8 billion is nearly the size of the entire budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

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Mark Jones, the company’s founder and chief financial officer, declined to comment about the contract cancellation or any possible error.

Annie Daniel contributed reporting.
Aatish Bhatia, a graphics editor at The Upshot, creates interactive articles that explain complex ideas in simple ways. More about Aatish Bhatia

Josh Katz writes, designs and produces stories, charts and interactive journalism for The Times. More about Josh Katz

Margot Sanger-Katz is a reporter covering health care policy and public health for the Upshot section of The Times. More about Margot Sanger-Katz

Ethan Singer reports using data for The Upshot section as a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Ethan Singer