Is DOGE Saving Taxpayers Money or Costing Them More?
Written by
Terence Loose
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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The idea behind the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), launched by President Donald Trump and initially led by Elon Musk, was to save the American taxpayers a bunch of money — at one point, Musk claimed he’d shave $2 trillion from the federal budget. That sparked talk of taxpayers getting DOGE refund checks of up to $5,000 per person, an idea endorsed by President Trump himself.
But is DOGE set to save taxpayers or end up costing them?
The Amount of Savings Keep Decreasing
Since then the $2 trillion figure was amended down and down and down again — to $1 trillion, then $350 million and finally, according to The Guardian, to $150 billion. And although $150 billion is nothing to snub our noses at, reports — such as one by CBS News — have said that DOGE’s actions could actually end up costing the taxpayers approximately $135 billion, according to the nonpartisan organization Partnership for Public Service (PPS). That’s due to things like mass federal workforce layoffs, rehiring expenses due to legal reinstatements, lost productivity and paid leave.
Other Costs Are Adding Up
The above calculations don’t take into account other taxpayer costs such as those stemming from defending lawsuits attacking DOGE’s actions or the lost tax revenue as a result of IRS staff cuts.
DOGE may also be costing taxpayers a fair amount of frustration. According to a PPS survey, 64% of respondents had concerns about the loss of experienced government personnel and 55% think the federal government is functioning worse now than a year ago.
Despite railing against the cost of federal workers, some of DOGE’s own staff members are being paid relatively high salaries. For instance, Jeremy Lewin, who helped dismantle USAID as part of his assignment to the Office of the Administrator within the General Services Administration (GSA), makes $167,000 annually, according to Wired. Similarly, DOGE’s Kyle Schutt, a software engineer, makes $195,000 and 28-year-old entrepreneur Nate Cavanaugh makes $120,500 per year.
Where Does This Land Us?
The aforementioned salaries might not seem so lavish, of course, until you factor in that the average GSA employee has worked at the agency for 13 years and has a salary of $128,565, according to DOGE’s own official website.
The bottom line? While a DOGE refund check may or may not be on the horizon, it has certainly cost taxpayers in the meantime.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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Sources
- CBS, “DOGE says it has saved $160 billion. Those cuts have cost taxpayers $135 billion, one analysis says.”
- Partnership for Public Service, “Partnership for Public Service releases new resources measuring the impact of President Trump’s federal government reforms during first 100 days.”
- DOGE, “Meet the U.S. Government.”
