Washington, D.C. – April 16, 2025 — The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has announced the deactivation of approximately 470,000 unused and unnecessary credit cards across U.S. federal agencies. The move is part of an ongoing audit aimed at curbing waste and fraud within the government.
The announcement was made in a statement posted Wednesday on DOGE’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
According to the agency, the audit—which initially began with a review of credit card usage—has now been expanded to 30 federal agencies. At the start of the initiative, there were 4.6 million active cards and accounts in circulation.
“The programme to audit unused/unneeded credit cards has been expanded to 30 agencies. After 7 weeks, ~470k cards have been deactivated,” DOGE stated. “As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were 4.6M active cards/accounts, so still more work to do.”
The credit card audit is one of several cost-cutting measures introduced under the directive of President Donald Trump. Since its launch, DOGE has reportedly saved the U.S. government $115 billion through spending cuts across various agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Earlier this week, DOGE also revealed that California, New York, and Massachusetts were responsible for the highest number of improper unemployment claims nationwide.
DOGE’s initiatives are part of a broader strategy to streamline federal operations and enhance financial accountability.
