GAO could not verify 96% of grant savings on DOGE's $110 billion scoreboard

The Wall of Receipts, DOGE's public scoreboard, reported $110 billion in savings across contracts, grants and leases as of July 7, 2026. The Government Accountability Office says that total is a claim, not a verified reduction in federal spending. GAO's report, GAO-26-108615, was published Aug. 6, and its recommendation was still listed as open on the report page.

What GAO found

• Grants: DOGE did not provide enough information for GAO to verify the method used to calculate 96% of reported grant savings.
• Contracts: DOGE did not use its own stated method for most contract savings it listed as terminated.
• A $1.7 billion example: DOGE reported that amount saved on a Defense Health Agency IT services contract. GAO found the contract was not terminated and its scope, value and funding were not reduced, so it concluded no savings were achieved.
• Leases: 108 of 264 leases listed for termination were already being terminated before DOGE was established in January 2025. GAO tied about $15.3 million of the $53.5 million in listed lease savings to them. The site does not explain how lease savings were calculated.
• Disclosure: GAO said the site does not sufficiently disclose its data limitations and has not been updated since its February 2025 launch.

Limits of the finding

GAO's audit does not say every cut was ineffective or that savings were zero. It says the headline total mixes figures that are unsupported, inconsistently calculated or not tied to a completed spending reduction. We have not audited the $110 billion ourselves.

GAO recommended that the Executive Office of the President, through the U.S. DOGE Service, prominently display known data quality issues on the site. It reported that DOGE did not respond to its requests for information or interviews, so it could not determine why the limits were not disclosed. We have not contacted DOGE or the White House for this brief.

Why it matters

A claimed saving, a reduced obligation, cash actually not spent and a smaller deficit are four different things. Contractors, grant recipients and landlords of federal space are the ones whose payments those labels describe; business owners who deal with federal agencies can check their own award or lease records against what is listed.

Sources: GAO-26-108615, "DOGE Wall of Receipts: More Transparency Needed on How Savings Are Derived," Aug. 6, 2026. This is a news brief on a government audit, not investment advice.