Elon Musk Shares Most Outrageous Discoveries by DOGE
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, nearing the end of his government role, has shared the most notable discoveries from his time leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters, Musk outlined five major examples of government waste and inefficiency uncovered by his team.
Musk was appointed to lead DOGE following President Trump’s executive order on Inauguration Day.
The department was tasked with identifying and eliminating up to $2 trillion in federal budget waste. DOGE was designed as a temporary agency focused on rapid audits and recommendations.
As a “special government employee,” Musk is limited to 130 days of service per year under Office of Government Ethics rules.
His tenure will conclude on May 30, and he has begun reducing his involvement accordingly.
During his interview, Musk recounted several of DOGE’s most significant findings, starting with a controversial contract involving a former Taliban official, the Conservative Brief reported.
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) had awarded a $132,000 contract to Mohammad Qasem Halimi, a former Taliban member who had served as Afghanistan’s Chief of Protocol.
Halimi, who had been detained by U.S. forces at Bagram Air Base in 2002, later held positions in the Afghan government, including Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs in 2020. DOGE announced the cancellation of the contract on March 31.
A DOGE staffer noted that USIP had also spent money on private jets and maintained firearms at its headquarters, which the team found contradictory to the agency’s mission. The staffer called it “the least peaceful agency” they had encountered.
Another major finding involved the misuse of school COVID-19 relief funds.
DOGE audits revealed that $200 billion had been spent with limited oversight. Expenditures included hotel rooms in Las Vegas and even an ice cream truck.
Granite School District in Utah reportedly spent $86,000 on hotel accommodations at Caesars Palace for an educational conference.
Santa Ana Unified School District in California spent $393,000 renting a Major League Baseball stadium. Granite has since stated that the trip was a valid professional development activity.
Additional reports noted $60,000 in spending on swimming pool passes by other districts. One California district used relief funds to purchase a mobile ice cream truck.
A separate DOGE-supported investigation uncovered that USAID had approved $20 million to fund a localized version of “Sesame Street” in Iraq. The initiative, called “Ahlan Simsim Iraq,” aimed to promote cultural and religious understanding.
The program was funded through a grant to the Sesame Workshop nonprofit.
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R), chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus, highlighted this spending as an example of excessive international aid under President Biden’s administration.
DOGE also relied on findings from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which reported $162 billion in improper payments by federal agencies in the last fiscal year. Although down from $236 billion the year before, the figure drew criticism.
The GAO report found that the majority of the waste came from five key federal programs, including those under Health and Human Services, the Treasury, the Department of Agriculture, and the Small Business Administration.
Lastly, Musk’s team has taken aim at federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Trump had promised to reduce DEI-related spending, advocating for a merit-based approach to hiring and operations.
DOGE announced that hundreds of millions of dollars in DEI contracts had been identified and targeted for elimination as part of Trump’s broader cost-cutting agenda. These cuts were presented as part of an ongoing effort to streamline government programs.
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