The Biden administration wasted $236 billion in improper payments throughout 71 federal programs in 2023, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The improper payments underscore President Donald Trump’s vow to clean up the administrative state and his support of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and of Elon Musk’s audit of the federal government to cut waste, fraud, and abuse.
The massive sum — three-quarters of which was reportedly overpayments – was just a portion of the federal deficit ($1.8 trillion) under the Biden administration.
The New York Times reported the Government Accountability Office’s analysis:
Mr. Musk has told administration officials that he thinks they could balance the budget if they eliminate the fraudulent payments leaving the system, according to an official who discussed the matter with him. It is unclear what he is basing that statement on. The federal deficit for 2024 was $1.8 trillion. The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report that the government made $236 billion in improper payments — three-quarters of which were overpayments — across 71 federal programs during the 2023 fiscal year.
The massive waste will likely encourage the Trump administration to clamp down on government outflows.
Musk has already focused on the Treasury Department and its payment system that disburses trillions of dollars of federally allocated funds, the Times reported last week:
The Musk allies who have been granted access to the payment system were made Treasury employees, passed government background checks and obtained the necessary security clearances, according to two people familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity to discuss internal arrangements. While their access was approved, the Musk representatives have yet to gain operational capabilities and no government payments have been blocked, the people said.
Mr. Musk’s initiative is intended to be part of a broader review of the payments system to allow improper payments to be scrutinized and is not an effort to arbitrarily block individual payments, the people familiar with the matter said. Career Treasury Department attorneys signed off on granting the access, they added, and any changes to the system would go through a review process and testing.
DOGE’s audit of outflows is just one aspect of Musk’s overall plan to cut waste, fraud, and abuse.
DOGE took over the federal government’s human resources department (Office of Personnel Management), went into the General Services Administration to inspect real estate leases and cut 50 percent of the agency’s budget, and planned to shut down USAID, which Republicans say is a cutout for the CIA’s agenda.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
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