DOGE Deactivates 500,000 Government Credit Cards in Sweeping Audit Crackdown

The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has announced it has deactivated over 500,000 federal credit cards as part of an ongoing audit aimed at rooting out financial waste in the public sector.

According to DOGE’s update posted on Wednesday, these deactivated cards were among the 4.6 million active government credit accounts identified at the start of the audit process. So far, the investigation has uncovered that 90 million transactions were processed through these cards in the 2024 fiscal year alone — totaling $40 billion in spending.

That translates to an average transaction of $441, according to data from the General Services Administration (GSA).

“There are still almost twice as many credit/purchasing cards as people in the government, and the limits are $10,000!” DOGE head Elon Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) in March. “A lot of shady expenditures happening.”

Credit Card Update!

The program to audit unused/unneeded credit cards has been expanded to 32 agencies. After 10 weeks, more than 500K cards have been de-activated.

As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were ~4.6M active cards/accounts, so still more work to do. pic.twitter.com/apdJuMFaNR

— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) May 7, 2025

DOGE said its audit, which now spans 32 federal agencies, is far from over. A graph shared with the update shows that 12 agencies have completed 90% or more of their audit reviews. These include high-spending departments like the GSA, Department of Education, and Social Security Administration.

DOGE first launched the probe in February after red flags were raised around the sheer volume and scope of government card usage. Musk, appointed by President Trump to lead DOGE, previously described many of the cards as “seemingly unlimited” in their use, hinting at systemic oversight issues.

While the audit process continues, watchdog groups and budget analysts are already calling DOGE’s findings one of the most sweeping crackdowns on unchecked federal spending in recent memory.

The department has not yet released specific details about which types of transactions were flagged as “suspicious,” but has promised more transparency in upcoming reports.

“As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were ~4.6M active cards/accounts, so still more work to do,” DOGE wrote in its post.

The next phase of the audit is expected to involve interviews with agency procurement officers and a forensic review of high-dollar purchases.

With nearly half a million cards now deactivated and more scrutiny underway, DOGE’s push to rein in federal spending is already making waves in Washington.

{Source: National News Desk}

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