Elon Muskrevealed at a Cabinet meeting Thursday just how much cash DOGE is expected to save U.S. taxpayers as the group cuts down government waste.
Sitting in the West Wing's Cabinet Room before all the president's deputies, the Tesla CEO announced that DOGE will save $150 billion in FY2026.
'Thanks to your fantastic leadership, this amazing Cabinet and the very talented DOGE team, I'm excited to announce that we anticipate savings in FY 26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion,' Musk proclaimed at the meeting.
He said some of the government programs the agency stumbled upon were 'absurd' and 'crazy.'
'Like people getting unemployment insurance who haven't been born yet,' he told the room.
Despite the mind-boggling sum of money that is set to be saved next financial year the prediction comes in significantly less than what the group originally sought out to slash from federal payrolls.
Originally, Musk set out to cut a whopping $2 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse.
He later walked that back, calling it a 'best-case outcome' and said that he hopes to get half of that, around $1 trillion - still far more than what he set out to achieve.
President Donald Trump speaks at a Cabinet meeting as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth look on in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Washington
DOGE leader Elon Musk announced at the meeting that his employees will save U.S. taxpayers $150 billion in FY2026
Still, saving the U.S. $150 billion in just a couple months of work is a service every American should be thankful for because of the individual savings that will pass along.
According to the DOGE site, the group has already saved each taxpayer $931.
'People ask me, like, well, how are you going to find waste, fraud and abuse in thefederal in the government? I'm like, well, actually, just go in any direction,' Musk told the Cabinet.
'That's how you find it. It's very common. It's, as military would say, a target rich environment.'
The SpaceX CEO also applauded the collaboration of each Cabinet member who he said helped his workers dig through each agency for savings.
He told the president the savings 'will actually result in better services for the American people.'
Democrats, on the other hand, argue that DOGE has cut essential services, and its employees have accessed the private data of millions of Americans.
Liberal lawmakers and activists all over the globe have decried and protested Musk's actions in Trump's administration.
DOGE leader Elon Musk flashes a 'Tech Support' shirt at a Cabinet meeting in February. Musk has said he is using his technical expertise to streamline government functions and cut spending
Members of the Ragussi Women's Group welcome Shari Berenbach to their shea butter processing facility inBurkina Faso
Earlier this month DOGE announced cutting $51 million in grants forbizarre initiatives like shea butter marketing, mango drying and yogurt production in Africa.
The cost cutting group recently shared the eyebrow-raising expenditures on X.
'The US African Development Foundation has terminated $51M in grants,' the post stated.
DOGE's post also mentioned specific projects that were being funded by the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF). The organization was created by Congress in 1980 and is meant to facilitate direct investments into African enterprises and entrepreneurs.
The grants included nearly $230,000 for marketing 100 percent organic shea butter in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world.
An $84,000 grant for a business incubator for spa and wellness entrepreneurs in Nigeria and $240,000 grant for marketing pineapple juice in Benin were also canceled.
The group also cut a nearly $100,000 award to increase Ugandan yogurt production and almost $50,000 for a WhatsApp marketing chatbot in Kenya.
Another $50,000 project to teach farmers how to grow dragon fruit in Senegal was also slashed.
