Over One Third of Federal Contracts Terminated By DOGE Will Save the Government No Money: 'Like Confiscating Used Ammunition'

Almost 40% of the federal contracts being canceled by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by billionaire Elon Musk, will save no money for the federal government due to them already being largely fulfilled, according to federal data.

"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," Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor, told the Associated Press. "Their terminating so many contracts pointlessly obviously doesn't accomplish anything for saving money."

Of the 1,125 contracts listed by DOGE, 417 recently terminated contracts will yield no savings, according to information shared on DOGE's own "Wall of Receipts," reported the Associated Press.

This is because the government is required to pay for goods or services that it has already used and received, or it has already paid contractors, indicating that the contract has been completed. The canceled contracts include ones for training programs that have already occurred, interns who have already completed their terms and even software that has already been installed and used.

Some of these contracts are subscriptions to media outlets that the Trump administration had already promised to discontinue, despite having already paid for.

"It's too late for the government to change its mind on many of these contracts and walk away from its payment obligation," Tiefer, who served on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the outlet.

The Trump administration has voiced its goals to eliminate fraud and waste from government operations. The canceled contracts have a collective value of about $478 million, with administration officials stating that removing such dead weight is still a useful adjustment.

DOGE has stated that the amount of money being saved by all canceled contracts total adds up to billions, though this figure has been questioned by experts.