Elon Musk’s DOGE claimed to have saved $160 billion, but it may have cost Americans atleast $135 billion

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) claims it has saved the U.S. government $160 billion by cutting wasteful spending. However, a new report by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service (PPS) suggests that these efforts may actually cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year, CBS has reported.

According to PPS, the estimated cost stems from several unintended consequences of DOGE’s policies, including paid leave for federal employees, rehiring thousands of workers who were wrongfully terminated, and declines in productivity due to new reporting requirements.

These projections are based on the $270 billion annual federal workforce compensation bill. Notably, the $135 billion figure does not include other costs such as legal battles or reduced IRS tax collections.


One of DOGE’s more controversial initiatives was a “deferred resignation” scheme, which allowed employees to collect full salaries through September without reporting to work. Additionally, 24,000 previously dismissed federal workers—including critical staff like USDA bird flu experts—were reinstated following court orders.

PPS President Max Stier also noted that morale and productivity have dipped, partly due to burdensome new requirements like weekly accomplishment reports.

White House Pushes Back

Meanwhile, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields has rejected the PPS analysis, calling it misleading and defending DOGE’s accomplishments.

However, estimates from Yale’s Budget Lab suggest DOGE’s staff cuts at the IRS alone could lead to $323 billion in lost tax revenue over the next decade.

While DOGE may produce $38 billion in direct savings over the same period, experts say those gains are offset by wider economic consequences—such as:

• An annual $16 billion loss in health research funding
• 68,000 potential job losses in affected sectors

Earlier this week, Musk announced plans to scale back his involvement in DOGE following a 71% drop in profits of Tesla. The EV maker has also announced a 20% decline in vehicle sales last quarter which is partly blamed on public backlash to Musk's political role.

“Starting next month, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly—to a day or two per week. I’ll continue to spend a day or two on government matters for as long as the President would like me to do so,” Musk said.