The article reveals that the federal cost-cutting initiative DOGE, led by Elon Musk’s office, mistakenly claimed to have saved $8 billion by canceling an Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract, when in fact the contract was only worth $8 million. Investigations show that an early version of the contract featured an erroneous $8 billion figure which was corrected to $8 million shortly thereafter, and given that $2.5 million had already been spent, the cancellation only saved up to $5.5 million. The error appears to have been highlighted by The Upshot’s review of the Federal Procurement Data System, and raises questions about the reliability of DOGE’s accounting methods as it continues to inflate savings figures despite acknowledging mistakes in the past.

Key Points:

• DOGE claimed $8 billion in savings from canceling a contract, but the contract was actually valued at $8 million.
• The contract was for “program and technical support services” for the Office of Diversity and Civil Rights at ICE.
• An initial $8 billion figure was later corrected to $8 million, and only $2.5 million had been spent before the cancellation.
• The actual savings were closer to $5.5 million, once spent funds were accounted for.
• DOGE’s published savings tallies, which total up to $55 billion, include other contracts but lack detailed documentation.
• The issue calls into question the accuracy of the data on DOGE’s website and the overall accounting of federal spending reductions under the initiative.
• Elon Musk has acknowledged that mistakes will be made and corrected promptly.

Why did the federal contract get a “mega” upgrade? Because it wanted to go from $8 million to $8 billion – talk about inflation with a sense of humor!
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