As DOGE pushes to cut spending, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he’s somewhat shocked by the amount of fraud it has already uncovered.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is making significant strides in cutting federal spending, adding that he is “slightly shocked” by the extent of fraud uncovered—not just waste and abuse.
Speaking in a Feb. 28 interview on Bloomberg Podcasts, Bessent was asked whether DOGE’s cost-cutting measures would have a “material” impact on deficit reduction.
“I think we can make a pretty big hit here,” he replied, explaining that if DOGE identifies $300 billion in savings—which he suggested is possible—it could reduce the annual deficit by approximately 1 percentage point as a share of gross domestic product (GDP).
Even if the savings total only $150 billion, he said, this is still “moving us back toward the target, and we’re determined to get this down.”
Bessent emphasized that DOGE, which was tasked by President Donald Trump with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending, has already uncovered substantial inefficiencies—and a surprising amount of outright fraud.
When in comes to “waste, fraud, and abuse, I think most of us think in terms of waste and abuse,” Bessent said. “I’ve got to tell you that I’m slightly shocked at some of the fraud we’re finding, and you’re going to be hearing about more of that over the next couple of weeks.”
As for the ultimate savings that DOGE will deliver, Bessent said: “We’ll see.”
DOGE, led by Elon Musk in a special government role, has an 18-month mandate to slash $2 trillion in federal spending before its scheduled dissolution on Independence Day 2026. Musk has acknowledged the ambitious nature of this goal, saying that even cutting half that amount would be a major step toward reducing inefficiency and lowering deficits.
Over the past month, Musk and DOGE staffers have moved aggressively to pursue reforms across federal agencies, reporting $65 billion in savings through canceled grants, asset sales, workforce reductions, and terminated contracts and leases.
By Tom Ozimek
