Billionaire and lead at the United States of America Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk has lamented the amount of waste and fraud in the US government as “astonishing and mind-blowing.”
Citing specific examples of waste and fraud, Musk revealed that the US government was charged almost $1 billion for an online survey that literally cost $10,000.
Musk disclosed this in a FOX News interview with Bret Baier released on X Friday.
Musk was speaking on the activities of DOGE and staffer in the past days and weeks.
He said that there is a lot of waste and fraud in the US government, noting that DOGE aimed to reduce government by $1 trillion to $6 trillion from $7 trillion in weeks.
He emphasized that 15 percent of waste reduction can be achieved by DOGE without affecting critical government services.
Musk added that DOGE routinely encounters $1 billion in waste and fraud monthly.
“The government is not efficient. There is a lot of waste and fraud, so we felt a 15 percent reduction can be done without affecting any critical government services.
“The sheer amount of waste and fraud in the government is astonishing and mind-blowing.
“We routinely encounter a waste of about $1 billion a month casually.
“For example, for a simple survey, a literal ten-question survey that cost $10,000, the government is being charged almost $1 billion. A simple online survey: Do you like the National Park?” He told FOX News.
DAILY POST reports that DOGE in the past weeks had probed expenditures of US federal government agencies, including the Treasury Department, Education, Defence, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
DOGE, backed by President Donald Trump, estimates that it has saved US taxpayers $115 billion as of March 24, 2025.
