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.
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Senator reveals ‘crazy’ USAID threatened her when she tried to curb its spending last year
‘They said, “No, you can’t look at it. You’re not going to look at these contracts. You don’t need access to it, so we’re not going to let you see it,”‘ Ernst recounted.
Sen. Joni Ernst is accusing USAID of intimidating and threatening her team in a brazen effort to obstruct congressional oversight.
Speaking with DailyMail.com, the Iowa Republican tore into the agency, which has been effectively shuttered by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk.
The senator said that the agency stonewalled her last year when she tried to investigate its cash flow.
‘They said, “No, you can’t look at it. You’re not going to look at these contracts. You don’t need access to it, so we’re not going to let you see it,”‘ Ernst recounted.
‘Defiant’ USAID staff even threatened to bring legal action, the senator said. ‘I mean, it is crazy,’ Ernst added.
Originally, USAID was established in 1961 to award U.S. taxpayer cash to countries for important education, infrastructure, health and other projects. It has been credited for helping developing countries get vital resources like medicine and food.
But as Musk’s DOGE team began investigating the department’s expenditures, they were aghast at what they found and decided to ‘shut it down.’
Spending included millions of taxpayer dollars to expand LGBT employment initiatives in Serbia and fund transgender health clinics in India and Vietnam.
As of Tuesday USAID’s fate hangs in limbo and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken over control after finding ‘insubordination’ among the agency’s top ranks.
‘They even responded back with a letter that was basically threatening us by saying, ‘Well, if we allow you access to this information, it gets into the wrong hands, we can sue you,” the Republican said.
‘They were trying to scare us away from continuing to dig into this,’ she added.
Ernst wanted to know how much USAID was spending on administrative costs versus aid.
These administrative fees came in the form of negotiated indirect cost rate agreements (NICRA). NICRA costs include employees’ salaries, facility repairs, rent, lobbying and administrative costs.
After six months of negotiating with USAID over getting access to their data, Ernst’s team was finally allowed to review a limited number of files while being surveilled the entire time, she said.
‘And then my staff was allowed to go into a room where he could not take notes, he could not remove any information, and he was under a camera the entire time so that the [USAID] staff could watch him read the data,’ Ernst shared.
‘What we found out was that the NICRA rates were upwards of 50 to 60 percent and that doesn’t include the cost that the subcontractors were adding on, which means, if you look at it from that perspective, maybe only 40 percent of the dollars that we’re sending in humanitarian aid actually result in humanitarian aid,’ Ernst shared of her findings.
‘All these big fat cat contractors are sucking up all those extra dollars, and we were only able to get that information after they USAID obstructed us.’
NICRA funds were being used to pay for fancy meals with lobbyists and expensive headquarters for USAID recipients worldwide her team found.
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President Trump to Dismantle Education Department Next
President Trump is on a roll!
President Trump previously nominated Linda McMahon for Education Secretary.
This is a major upgrade to Miguel Cardona, the Biden-appointed Marxist who ran the department who spent years defying the US Supreme Court with student loan bailout workarounds.
President Trump said he wants to send education back to the states.
“For the past four years, as the Chair of the Board at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), Linda has been a fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights, working hard at both AFPI and America First Works (AFW) to achieve Universal School Choice in 12 States, giving children the opportunity to receive an excellent Education, regardless of zip code or income. As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,” Trump said.
Trump continued, “Linda served for two years on the Connecticut Board of Education, where she was one of the fifteen members overseeing all Public Education in the State, including its Technical High School system. She also served as a Member of the Board of Trustees at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, for two stints totaling over 16 years.”
“We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort,” Trump said.
President Trump vowed to wage war with Education Department and give power back to the states.
“On Day 1, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto the shoulders of our children,” Trump has said. “And I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate.”
Trump said he wants to strip the entire department.
“We’ll have one person plus a secretary, and all the person has to do is, ‘Are you teaching English? Are you teaching arithmetic? What are you doing? Reading, writing and arithmetic, and are you not teaching woke?’ Not teaching woke is a very big factor, but we’ll have a very small staff,” Trump said on the campaign trail.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Trump Admin is working on ways to dismantle the Education Department.
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