DOGE Says 315,000 Credit Cards Have Been Canceled, Limited by Federal Agencies

Last month, DOGE said that more than 4.6 million credit cards were used across federal agencies last year.

Credit cards in Atlanta on Jan. 18, 2024. Mike Stewart/AP Photo

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said about 315,000 government credit cards have been canceled or limited by various federal agencies under a cost-savings program.

The Elon Musk-affiliated group wrote in a post on Tuesday that “up to [approximately] 315,000 credit cards” were canceled by a number of federal agencies, an increase from about 298,000 cancelations as of Sunday. DOGE said this was after a five-week “pilot program” was undertaken.

Credit card cancelations this week impacted agencies including the Departments of Homeland Security, Interior, Commerce, Treasury, State, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Education, Agriculture, and Labor.

According to a spreadsheet posted by DOGE, credit cards used by NASA, the General Services Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, the Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and more were also cut.

Last month, DOGE said in a statement that it found more than 4.6 million government credit cards, which accounted for more than 90 million unique transactions, amounting to more than $40 billion last year.

Noting the number of agency credit cards, DOGE wrote there is “still more work to do.”

When it announced that figure, DOGE also released a breakdown of several agencies’ year-to-date spending, active accounts, and transaction amounts. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs had the highest spending at more than $17.3 billion, while the Defense Department was No. 2 at more than $11.2 billion.

The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security also spent more than $1 billion via their credit card accounts, while smaller government agencies and organizations recorded more than $2.3 billion combined in spending.

Since President Donald Trump created DOGE via an executive order in January, the group has gone from agency to agency and identified spending and programs to be slashed.

However, DOGE has also faced a number of lawsuits about its access to different federal agencies and databases, including systems operated by the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service.

In a lawsuit last week, a federal judge blocked DOGE from accessing Social Security records and cited the plaintiffs’ privacy concerns. The judge also questioned whether DOGE had a legitimate reason to access the data under the pretext of targeting fraud, abuse, and waste.

“The American public may well applaud and support the Trump Administration’s mission to root out fraud, waste, and bloat from federal agencies, including SSA, to the extent it exists. But, by what means and methods?” U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander wrote. “The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion.”

On March 24, DOGE was blocked from accessing Education Department data under a separate judge’s order, which also sided with plaintiffs’ arguments that the organization may be violating privacy laws with its access.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman wrote, in ruling against DOGE and the government, that the Trump administration can still carry out the president’s agenda without receiving unfettered access to a trove of personal data on federal employees and people with student loans and government benefits. That includes their income and asset information, Social Security numbers, birth dates, home addresses, and marital and citizenship status.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.