Despite Elon Musk's Efforts, US Spending Soars To New Highs, Deficit Exceeds $1 Trillion

Namrata Sen

March 13, 2025

Benzinga

The U.S. federal spending hit a record-breaking $603.4 billion last month, despite the efficiency drive led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

What Happened: Despite Musk’s efforts to streamline government operations through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), U.S. federal spending has soared to an all-time high, as per data by the U.S. Treasury.

Compared to the same month in the previous year, spending has escalated by $36 billion, marking a 6.35% increase. The Monthly Treasury Statement shows that for the first five months of fiscal year 2025, the deficit was approximately $1.147 trillion, up from $828 billion in the same period the previous year.

This surge comes even as DOGE has made significant inroads into various government agencies, resulting in numerous suspensions, dismissals, and contract cancellations.

Jessica Riedl, an economic policy expert at the Manhattan Institute, told the Financial Times, “DOGE savings are so small as not to be identifiable in monthly spending totals.”

The Trump administration, even with DOGE’s assistance, has struggled to curtail the size of the government. DOGE says to have saved over $100 billion, yet only a few departments have reported any reductions during the first complete month of the new administration. February data indicated that spending by the Department of Education dropped by $5 billion, while expenditure by the Department of State declined by $2 billion.

At the same time, February’s deficit expanded by $10.7 billion in February from the same month in 2024, showing minimal impact from Trump’s initial import duties on key trading partners.

Why It Matters: This news comes in the wake of recent revelations that DOGE had quietly deleted or altered over 1,000 contracts from its “wall of receipts,” erasing more than $4 billion in claimed savings for U.S. taxpayers. This raised questions about the validity of Musk’s claims regarding the effectiveness of his efficiency drive.

Musk has frequently stated that DOGE is poised to save $1 trillion from the annual federal budget, with cost reductions occurring at a rate of $4 billion per day. However, the Monthly Treasury Statement for February showed minimal decreases in major categories.

DOGE continues to face the challenge of gaining broad Republican support for cuts. President Trump has recently moved to limit some of DOGE’s activities, urging Musk to use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet.” This follows criticism from some Republican lawmakers over DOGE’s rapid and extensive cuts.