In my ongoing series tracking the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), we’ve seen how DOGE, launched on January 20, 2025, is working tirelessly cutting waste and improving federal efficiency. Following my recent piece on DOGE’s efforts during my alligator-hunting trip in Louisiana (read here), where I highlighted contract terminations, credit card audits, and grant cancellations in Week 13, we now turn to Week 14 of DOGE’s existence—spanning April 21 to April 27, 2025, or days 93 to 99. This week, DOGE continued its mission with significant updates on grant cuts, contract terminations, fraud prevention, and policy enforcement, all to make sure your hard earned taxpayer dollars are used effectively. Let’s look at the updates, day by day.
Day 95 (April 23, 2025): DOJ Cuts $3M in Wasteful Grants Amid Calls for Broader Action
While Bondi’s efforts were a step toward addressing government inefficiencies, many X users felt the cuts were only a starting point, urging her to tackle other issues. Through popular memes and comments, they called for greater accountability on matters such as prosecuting Epstein’s clients and handlers, addressing corrupt officials allegedly framing a president for treason, investigating 2020 election fraud, examining COVID-related overreaches (e.g., mandates, lockdowns, and nursing home policies), January 6 events, and illegal immigration. Several users expressed concern that the $3 million reduction—while a positive move—was modest compared to the U.S.’s $2 trillion annual deficits, noting that the cuts might not be permanent without Congressional action.
Day 96 of Week 14 (April 24, 2025): $845M in Contract Terminations, $90M in Grant Cuts, and SSA Cleanup
On this day, DOGE posted a contract and grant update, announcing that over the previous several days, agencies had terminated 269 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $845 million, yielding savings of $255 million. This included a vague sounding $50k Department of the Interior consulting contract to “provide facilitation and collaborative problem-solving services.” Additionally, agencies terminated $90 million in wasteful grants, such as $995k for a frivolous “BIPOC culinary program” and $625k for a a wildly odd “Russian-Far East biodiversity partnership”
Later that day, DOGE shared an update on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) record cleanup efforts. Over the past seven weeks, the SSA had marked approximately 11 million numberholders listed as age 120 or older as deceased, with 1.4 million records still to be reviewed and an expected completion in two weeks [embedded post link: placeholder for DOGE’s April 24 SSA post URL]. While DOGE has not provided exact figures on the financial impact, the scale of the cleanup suggests billions in savings. For instance, if each of these 11 million fraudulent numberholders was collecting just $5,000 annually, the total cost to taxpayers would amount to $55 billion—a conservative estimate. In reality, the average SSA benefit in 2025 is $21,600 per year, meaning the potential savings could reach a staggering $237.6 billion if all records were linked to active payments. For most Americans, DOGE is making a transformative impact by eliminating waste and fraud in federal systems. In fact, I have never met anyone who thinks we should continue to finance fraudulent systems, though some who benefit from the fraud clearly want it to continue. The loudest anti-DOGE voices are those who were profiting heavily from the fraud.
Day 97 of Week 14 (April 25, 2025): Navy and NSF Cut Wasteful Spending, USDA and USDOL Enforce Benefit Policies
On day 97 of DOGE’s existence—I noticed a flurry of activity across multiple agencies. Early in the day, DOGE praised the U.S. Navy and Secretary of the Navy for canceling 45 wasteful grants and over-budget IT contracts, including a curious and odd study on the “population consequences of the disturbance of humpback whales in the context of climate change.” The Navy’s focus is shifting to strengthening core fighting forces to make America strong in the event of a war, as it should.
Later, at 11:24 AM, DOGE reposted a statement from Secretary Rollins announcing that the USDA had taken action to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving federal benefits paid for by American taxpayers.
That evening, at 9:33 PM, DOGE shared a similar update from Secretary LCD, who confirmed that the Department of Labor (USDOL) is enforcing policies to ensure unemployment benefits are awarded only to eligible workers, not illegal immigrants, in line with President Trump’s directives.
At 10:45 PM, DOGE highlighted the National Science Foundation (NSF) for canceling 701 wasteful DEI grants, saving $203 million. This included a DEI grant for “Building Racial Equity in Marine Science,” bringing the total savings to over $325 million in the past two weeks. The NSF emphasized its commitment to funding research opportunities for all Americans based solely on merit.
Finally, at 11:40 PM, DOGE announced another contract update: over the last two days, agencies terminated 226 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $1.03 billion, yielding savings of $555 million. This included an expensive and cumbersome and also ineffective $5.4 Million Dollar IRS consulting contract for “exploring emerging issues within the IRS” and a $20k NSF “management development” contract.
DOGE DIARIES: The Persistent Impact of DOGE
Week 14 of DOGE’s existence demonstrates the speed at which Elon Musk works with the DOGE team to root out waste, fraud, and inefficiency. From the DOJ’s modest but symbolic $3 million grant cuts to the Navy’s focus on core priorities, the NSF’s merit-based grant reforms, and the SSA’s massive record cleanup, DOGE is proving to be the best force for change in history —like a hungry alligator lunging at inefficiency, as I reflected during my recent trip to Louisiana to go on a swamp adventure!
What strikes me most this week is DOGE’s ongoing persistence in tackling issues big and small. Whether it’s saving billions by cleaning up SSA records or enforcing policies to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving benefits, DOGE is addressing systemic problems that have been swept under the table for far too long. The involvement of top talent, as I mentioned earlier, is a game-changer—bringing expertise to a government that was stuck in the past.
This week’s updates remind us that we’re at a fork in the road where DOGE’s reforms will set the stage for a more efficient, tech-forward government. I’m excited to see what’s next as DOGE continues its mission to make our tax dollars count and reduce bureaucracy.
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