As part of a broad federal initiative to trim expenses and streamline operations, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) recalled more than 200,000 government-issued credit cards held by numerous federal agencies. The move is among the most visible early fruits of the Trump administration’s effort to become more efficient led by Elon Musk, aiming at what the department considers profligate government spending.
Magnitude of the credit card recall
As per the official reports by DOGE, 204,801 federal credit cards have been shut down as a result of a three-week audit of 16 federal agencies. These consist of 171,120 travel cards and 33,681 purchase cards that were found to be unnecessary or unused. Prior to the audit, there were around 4.6 million active cards and accounts within the federal government, making around 90 million transactions totaling close to $40 billion of spending in fiscal year 2024.
Federal agencies affected
The Interior Department was the most affected, with almost 60,000 cards being deactivated – 20,000 purchase cards and 40,000 travel cards. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) came next, with more than 45,900 cards being canceled, of which 43,700 were travel credit cards and 2,235 were purchase cards.
Other agencies that fell under the trimming scythe are General Services Administration, the Treasury, NASA, Department of Agriculture, and Homeland Security. Surprisingly, the sole one among the 16 participating agencies that escaped having their credit cards trimmed is the State Department.
Reason for the cuts
DOGE’s campaign specifically aimed at finding and cancelling duplicate or unused cards in the system. In a social media platform X (formerly Twitter) post, DOGE referred to the cancellations as “great progress” but noted that there was “still more work to do” in redirecting government spending habits.
The credit card audit is part of a larger effort to cut what the administration calls unnecessary federal spending that fuels the national debt.
More stringent methods for cutting costs on a larger scale
The credit card cancellations are only a part of DOGE’s wide-ranging efficiency mandate. Established by executive order on January 20, 2025, and headed by billionaire Elon Musk, DOGE has been tasked with reducing the size of the federal government and ending waste. The department, since its creation, has advised the firing of over 200,000 federal employees, of which around 75,000 have taken voluntary resignation packages.
In President Trump’s first Cabinet meeting, Musk told the country’s top administration leaders that DOGE is on a quest to find $1 trillion in savings needed to help lower America’s projected $36.5 trillion national debt. The country’s approximately $2 trillion per-year deficits, Musk said, are “unsustainable” and will “bring the country effectively bankrupt” if they continue.
Although the true cost savings from the cancelled credit cards are uncertain, DOGE continues to increase its auditing efforts. In addition to credit cards, the department has found other financial issues that are faulty, such as nearly 5,600 Small Business Administration loans worth $312 million disbursed to people who were reported 11 or younger at the time of pandemic relief.
The department’s action has been controversial, with critics questioning the right of unelected “special government employee” Musk to make federal spending decisions. The Trump administration, however, remains committed to emphasizing cost-cutting as a central policy objective.
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