By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there were referrals for fraud made to the Justice Department based on the findings of the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting agency that Trump ally and billionaire Elon Musk spearheaded.
KEY QUOTE
“Of course there have been,” Trump said in an interview with ABC News aired on Tuesday, when asked if there had been referrals for fraud from the work of DOGE.
Trump did not give details on who the allegations were against but repeated that there have been referrals several times during the interview.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Since taking office on January 20, the Trump administration has been on a cost-cutting spree overseen by the DOGE.
The drive has seen the gutting and attempted dismantling of multiple agencies and the firings of over 200,000 federal workers. It has faced legal challenges and lawsuits.
CONTEXT
Critics have portrayed the spending cuts as reckless and dangerous, particularly in emergency and humanitarian assistance abroad, while Trump and Musk say they are needed to fight waste and fraud.
Musk has said he will step back next month from his role overseeing DOGE. His 130-day mandate as a special government employee was set to expire at the end of May. He said he will continue to help Trump overhaul the government, but not full-time.
His reduced role leaves DOGE’s future in doubt, but governance experts said they believe the cost-cutting will continue.
BY THE NUMBERS
A DOGE website that gives regular updates on what it claims it has saved U.S. taxpayers – $160 billion to date – has been riddled with errors and corrections.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Scott Malone and Stephen Coates)
