On Monday, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency declared that nearly 300,000 government credit cards have been revoked.
In a post on X on Sunday, DOGE announced that following a five-week trial program aimed at auditing inactive or unnecessary credit cards, approximately 298,000 were deactivated altogether.
"Please remember, when the audit began, there were approximately 4.6 million active cards/accounts, indicating that further efforts are necessary," the post also noted.
In February, DOGE stated that the active credit cards had facilitated 90 million distinct transactions amounting to approximately $40 billion in spending for the 2024 fiscal year.
Key Alterations to Microenterprise Financing
DOGE has declared that loans provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) are now governed by updated regulations.
The SBA-administered loans now necessitate including the applicant’s date of birth, and individuals who are either under 18 or over 120 years old can no longer avail themselves of these direct loans.
"Such basic verification processes serve as preliminary measures to reduce fraud within government payment initiatives," DOGE stated in an X post.
This follows the SBA’s statement It will reduce its staff by 43 percent. , eliminating approximately 2,700 positions from the agency’s total workforce of nearly 6,500 employees. These reductions will occur via a mix of voluntary departures, the end ofCOVID-19 era and other temporary assignments, along with a “restricted” number of layoffs, according to the SBA.
The SBA stated that these reductions will not affect "essential" services provided to the public, such as the agency’s loan guarantee initiatives and disaster aid programs, along with its field offices and veteran operations.
The reductions in staff will result in savings of over $435 million each year for taxpayers by the fiscal year 2026, as stated by the SBA.
"Similar to the small business owners we assist, we need to achieve more with fewer resources," said the SBA Administrator. Kelly Loeffler said in a statement.
We have thus presented proposals aimed at achieving a strategic overhaul designed to align the organization and its assets more closely with our original mandate. Through the elimination of roles not essential for fulfilling this mission and combining various operations, we aim to restore staffing numbers similar to those during the final administration under President Trump—a period marked by unprecedented economic prosperity. Our renewed emphasis will be placed on fostering expansion within the private sector alongside providing disaster assistance, ensuring these efforts reflect transparency, effectiveness, and tangible outcomes.
How Many Jobs Has Doge Eliminated So Far?
Tens of thousands of job losses have been announced across numerous federal agencies.
The Environmental Protection Agency intends to abolish its scientific research division, potentially resulting in the dismissal of over 1,000 scientists and additional staff members, as stated by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
In early March, reports indicated that the Internal Revenue Service had faced some issues. planning to let go of around 18,000 workers , which equates to roughly 20 percent of its employees. In the meantime, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stated Congress That approximately 10,000 employees at the United States Postal Service would be terminated within a month.
The Department of Education has revealed intentions to terminate employment. more than 1,300 employees While the Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a restructuring that involves eliminating approximately 80,000 positions, as revealed by an internal memorandum acquired by the Associated Press this month.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is apparently intending to reduce its non-military staff By approximately 50,000 to 60,000 individuals.
Since President Trump assumed office, at least 24,000 probationary employees have been dismissed, as stated in a lawsuit brought forth by almost 20 states claiming these widespread terminations violate the law. In the previous week, two federal judges addressed this issue. ordered 19 federal agencies to bring back probationary employees who were let go.
Meanwhile, approximately 75,000 government employees agreed to The proposal to resign in exchange for getting paid and benefits up till September 30.
How much spending has DOGE reduced so far?
DOGE claims its initiatives have saved the federal government approximately $115 billion as of March 11—a mere sliver compared to Musk's contributions. $1 trillion cost-cutting goal .
According to DOGE, the records posted on their site—which detail contract, grant, and lease cancellations—account for roughly 30% of overall savings. This suggests that the initial saving amount cannot be fully confirmed at this time.
As per the Musk Watch DOGE Tracker created by data analyst Brian Banks, the confirmed savings amounted to approximately $8.6 billion as of March 11.
Is DOGE a governmental organization?
On January 20, Trump issued an executive order during his return to office on his first day back. officially creating DOGE aims to update "federal technology and software to enhance governmental efficiency and productivity."
Even though it bears such a title, this entity isn’t a governmental body established through legislation; instead, it functions as a special unit aimed at combating inefficiency and deceit within the federal administration.
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