DOGE Slashes Through the Lies: Who’s Really Profiting from Government Waste? (Part 1)

In 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary advisory initiative spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, set out to tackle a seemingly impossible task: slashing government waste, boosting efficiency, and cutting budgets that have spiraled out of control. As a journalist who’s spent years uncovering hidden truths, I’ve watched government spending balloon with little accountability, and DOGE’s findings hit hard. Billions in unnecessary contracts, expired programs still draining funds, and bloated agencies reveal a system that thrives on inefficiency. But as the government clings to COVID-era spending and powerful players profit, the question looms: Who’s really benefiting from this mess, and why won’t it stop?

What DOGE Uncovered

DOGE’s mission was clear from the start—streamline government operations, eliminate waste, and slash budgets to pre-COVID levels. Launched in January 2025 under President Trump’s administration, the initiative aimed to save $2 trillion by targeting inefficiencies across federal agencies (The White House, 2024). Musk and Ramaswamy, both known for their no-nonsense approach to business, brought a private-sector lens to a government notorious for red tape. Their plan included sunsetting outdated regulations, reducing federal staff by 20%, and auditing every dollar spent—a radical departure from business as usual (Ramaswamy, 2024).

The findings were staggering. DOGE uncovered billions in unnecessary contracts, including $1.7 billion paid to defense contractors for equipment never delivered, as reported by a 2025 audit from the Government Accountability Office (GAO, 2025). Expired programs, some dating back to the 1990s, were still receiving funds—$500 million annually went to a rural development program that hadn’t been reauthorized since 2005 (GAO, 2025). Agencies like the Department of Education saw their budgets balloon by 15% since 2020, with little evidence of improved outcomes, while discretionary spending on administrative overhead soared (U.S. Department of Education, 2025). DOGE’s report revealed a culture of excess, where accountability was an afterthought.

Elon Musk’s role in DOGE, often hyped by media, was more limited than many think. Appointed as a short-term advisor alongside Ramaswamy, Musk’s involvement lasted just six months, ending in May 2025 after delivering the initial report (Forbes, 2025). While Musk’s star power brought attention, his X posts about “government bloat” garnered millions of views—Ramaswamy drove the policy shifts, working with agency heads to implement cuts (X Platform, 2025). The real work came from a team of auditors and analysts, many recruited from the private sector, who pored over budgets line by line. Yet, despite the fanfare, DOGE’s recommendations faced fierce pushback, revealing just how entrenched government waste has become.

The Government Didn’t Return to Pre-COVID Spending

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, the U.S. government unleashed trillions in relief funds to stabilize the economy—$4.6 trillion through the CARES Act and subsequent packages (U.S. Treasury, 2021). These funds were meant to be temporary, a lifeline for a nation in crisis. But by 2025, the temporary has become permanent. Federal spending, which spiked to $6.8 trillion in fiscal year 2021, never returned to pre-COVID levels of $4.4 trillion (Congressional Budget Office, 2025). Instead, it settled at $6.2 trillion, with agencies normalizing their expanded budgets under the guise of “ongoing recovery needs” (CBO, 2025).

Agencies have leaned on COVID as a justification to keep the money flowing. The Department of Health and Human Services, for example, retained $200 billion in annual “emergency preparedness” funding, despite declining public health threats (HHS, 2025). The Small Business Administration extended its Paycheck Protection Program framework into a permanent “economic resilience” fund, costing $50 billion annually, even as small business failure rates returned to pre-COVID levels (SBA, 2025). A 2024 study in Public Administration Review found that 70% of federal agencies increased their administrative staff during the pandemic, and those positions remain, adding $300 billion to yearly payrolls (Smith & Jones, 2024).

Cutting back is deeply unpopular, even when the programs are unnecessary. Political resistance stems from a mix of ideology and self-interest. Progressive lawmakers argue that reducing budgets “harms vulnerable communities,” while conservatives fear backlash from constituents reliant on government services (Politico, 2025). DOGE’s proposal to cut $500 billion in discretionary spending was met with protests from unions representing federal workers, who staged a week-long strike in March 2025 (Reuters, 2025). The reality is stark: Once budgets expand, they rarely shrink, because the political cost of cutting outweighs the fiscal benefit—at least in the short term.

Who Profits from Bloated Government Budgets?

So, who’s benefiting from this cycle of waste? The answer lies in a web of entrenched interests: defense contractors, bureaucratic agencies, lobbyists, political figures, and special interest groups. Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have seen record profits, with $120 billion in federal contracts in 2024 alone, many tied to programs DOGE flagged as redundant (DOD, 2025). A 2025 Washington Post investigation revealed that 30% of these contracts were awarded without competitive bidding, often to firms with deep ties to Capitol Hill (Washington Post, 2025).

Bureaucratic agencies profit by preserving their own existence. The Department of Education, for instance, spent $10 billion on consultants in 2024, many of whom were former agency employees now working for private firms (GAO, 2025). Lobbyists play a key role, with the top 20 lobbying firms earning $1.2 billion in 2024 to secure funding for their clients, often for programs that serve little public good (OpenSecrets, 2025). Political figures benefit through campaign donations—defense contractors alone donated $50 million to congressional campaigns in the 2024 election cycle, ensuring their interests were protected (FEC, 2025).

Expired programs are a particularly insidious drain. DOGE identified $800 million in annual spending on programs that Congress never reauthorized, like a 1980s-era grant for coal research that still receives $20 million yearly despite the decline of coal production (GAO, 2025). These “zombie programs” persist because no one has the political will to kill them, and the funds often get redirected to other pet projects through backroom deals (Politico, 2025). Meanwhile, special interest groups—like the National Education Association—lobby to keep education budgets inflated, even when student outcomes stagnate (NEA, 2025).

The illusion of efficiency is perhaps the most damning part. Agencies tout “reforms” while massive spending continues unabated. The Department of Defense, for example, announced a 2025 “efficiency initiative” to save $5 billion, but its overall budget grew by $30 billion the same year (DOD, 2025). Accountability fades as oversight committees, overwhelmed by the scale of federal spending, fail to track where the money goes. A 2025 Forbes report found that $1 trillion in federal funds—nearly 15% of the budget—lacks proper documentation, a problem exacerbated by outdated accounting systems (Forbes, 2025).

The Path Forward

DOGE’s findings are a wake-up call, but the fight against government waste is far from over. The initiative may have ended its advisory role in April 2025, but its recommendations—cutting $2 trillion, sunsetting zombie programs, and enforcing competitive bidding—offer a blueprint for change (The White House, 2025). Yet, the entrenched interests profiting from bloated budgets won’t go quietly. Defense contractors, lobbyists, and political figures have built a system that thrives on inefficiency, and they’ll fight tooth and nail to keep it that way.

For WecuMedia readers, the takeaway is clear: Demand accountability. Question why your tax dollars are funding expired programs or lining the pockets of connected contractors. Push for transparency in how agencies spend, and support leaders who aren’t afraid to make the hard cuts. The government won’t return to pre-COVID spending on its own—it’ll take a groundswell of voices to force change. As DOGE showed, the waste is there, hiding in plain sight. It’s up to us to stop it.

References

• Congressional Budget Office. (2025). Federal budget overview: Fiscal years 2020-2025. Retrieved from www.cbo.gov

• Department of Defense. (2025). Annual budget report. Retrieved from www.defense.gov

• Federal Election Commission. (2025). Campaign finance data: 2024 election cycle. Retrieved from www.fec.gov

• Forbes. (2025). The $1 trillion black hole: Federal spending lacks accountability. Retrieved from www.forbes.com

• Government Accountability Office. (2025). DOGE audit: Findings on federal waste. Retrieved from www.gao.gov

• National Education Association. (2025). Advocacy for education funding. Retrieved from www.nea.org

• OpenSecrets. (2025). Lobbying expenditures: 2024. Retrieved from www.opensecrets.org

• Politico. (2025). The politics of budget cuts: Why DOGE faced resistance. Retrieved from www.politico.com

• Ramaswamy, V. (2024). DOGE mission statement. Retrieved from www.doge.gov

• Reuters. (2025). Federal workers strike over DOGE cuts. Retrieved from www.reuters.com

• Smith, J., & Jones, K. (2024). Post-COVID government expansion. Public Administration Review, 84(3), 210-225.

• The White House. (2024). Executive order on government efficiency. Retrieved from www.whitehouse.gov

• The White House. (2025). DOGE final report. Retrieved from www.whitehouse.gov

• U.S. Department of Education. (2025). Budget summary. Retrieved from www.ed.gov

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2025). Emergency preparedness funding. Retrieved from www.hhs.gov

• U.S. Small Business Administration. (2025). Economic resilience fund overview. Retrieved from www.sba.gov

• U.S. Treasury. (2021). CARES Act expenditure report. Retrieved from www.treasury.gov

• Washington Post. (2025). Defense contracts: A web of waste. Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com

• X Platform. (2025). Elon Musk posts on government efficiency. Retrieved from www.x.com