The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, announced the deactivation of approximately 470,000 federal credit cards across 30 agencies. This follows an earlier audit revealing 4.6 million active cards.
Numerous agencies were impacted, including the Office of Personnel Management, General Services Administration, Department of Defense, and others.
DOGE was established to reduce government waste and spending. While initially finding 4.6 million active cards and 90 million transactions totaling about $40 billion, the organization has faced legal challenges from various states concerned about privacy and national security risks.
Federal judges have issued injunctions on DOGE's activities within certain agencies, but some rulings have been overturned, allowing DOGE continued access to certain government systems. A recent case involved partial lifting of a ban on Treasury Department system access for a DOGE staffer.
A DOGE staffer has been appointed as the acting director of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance.
The Department of Veterans Affairs had the highest spending at over $17.3 billion, followed by the Department of Defense at over $11.2 billion. Justice and Homeland Security each exceeded $1 billion in credit card spending.