The lease count contains a large attribution problem
A Government Accountability Office review found that 108 of 264 leases on the Department of Government Efficiency’s Wall of Receipts were already being phased out before DOGE was established. That is 40.9% of the listed lease terminations.
Those pre-existing actions represented $15.3 million of the page’s $53.5 million claimed lease savings—28.6%. The calculation does not prove the remaining leases produced their stated savings; it isolates the portion GAO specifically found was already in process.
| Measure | GAO finding | Calculated share |
|---|---|---|
| Leases listed for termination | 264 | 100% |
| Already being phased out | 108 | 40.9% |
| Total claimed lease savings | $53.5M | 100% |
| Savings tied to pre-existing terminations | $15.3M | 28.6% |
| Wall claims across contracts, grants and leases | $110B | — |
A $1.7 billion example ended with no contract reduction
DOGE reported $1.7 billion in savings from a Defense Health Agency IT contract covering more than 700 military treatment facilities. GAO found that the contract ultimately was not terminated and its scope, value and funding were not reduced. GAO’s conclusion: no savings were achieved from that item.
One contradicted receipt does not establish the error rate for the full $110 billion. It does show why a visible number and a contract identifier are not enough; an accountable receipt needs the baseline, action taken, and evidence of avoided obligations or outlays.
Grant methodology was largely unverifiable
GAO reported that DOGE did not provide enough information to verify the calculation method for 96% of claimed grant savings. For contracts, the office said DOGE did not use its stated method for the majority of reported terminations. The lease page did not explain its savings method.
DOGE officials did not respond to GAO’s information and interview requests. The audit therefore identifies unsupported or incorrect claims; it does not substitute its own complete savings total.
Method and status
This report recalculated percentages from GAO’s published lease counts and dollar amounts and separated the specific zero-savings contract example from the broader universe. GAO examined Wall data from January 20, 2025 through July 7, 2026 and compared it with federal databases and agency information.
GAO’s recommendation that the Wall prominently disclose data limitations remains open. The U.S. DOGE Service did not comment on the report, according to GAO.