Executive Order on Cost Efficiency and Role of DOGE
President Trump has issued an Executive Order entitled Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative. It creates restrictions on a number of government activities that will impact federal employees.
The purpose of the latest executive order is “a transformation in Federal spending on contracts, grants, and loans to ensure Government spending is transparent and Government employees are accountable to the American public.”
The topics covered are broad. Several of the topics will impact a large number of federal employees with regard to their government credit cards and government travel.
The Order indicates how DOGE will be embedded in agencies. These changes are presumably in response to reports and examples of waste, fraud, or misuse of government funds in various ways that have been uncovered through DOGE investigation of money being spent by agencies and the frequent lack of any justification or recorded purpose for the money being spent. Each of the items covered by the Order require consultation with the DOGE Team Lead.
Underlying the directive to review each covered area is seeking a way to reduce government spending. This latest Order is different in that it addresses government processes for awarding and spending money and not as impactful on individual government employees. The earlier Orders were directed more at federal employees rather than government systems.
DOGE has been active in seeking ways to cut government spending. It recently reported on canceling these government contracts:
Non-Essential Travel Justification
This topic is to curb non-essential travel, such as attending conferences, without obtaining approval through a central system requiring justification for the expense. The system will include a “travel-approving official” who will have to submit a “brief, written justification for the federally funded travel”.
The DOGE administrator will be sent a monthly report listing each agency’s justifications for non-essential travel. The justifications are to be posted for public review “unless prohibited by law or unless the Agency Head grants an exemption from this requirement.”
These are examples listed by DOGE that presumably fall under the umbrella of unjustified government travel expenses:
Credit Card Freeze
24,000 federal credit cards have been deactivated. $40 billion was charged on credit cards in 2024.
As of February 26, the date of the Executive Order, federal credit cards are frozen for 30 days. The exceptions to this directive are “credit cards held by employees engaged in, or charges related to employees utilizing such credit cards for, disaster relief or natural disaster response benefits or operations or other critical services as determined by the Agency Head….”
There can be other exceptions that must be approved by the Agency Head and in consultation with the agency’s DOGE Team Leader.
Here are examples of how DOGE has been investigating the use of federal credit cards and, presumably, what the Executive Order is addressing.
Cutting Costs to Save Taxpayers Money
The Order requires agencies to set up a system to “record every payment issued by the agency pursuant to each of the agency’s covered contracts and grants, along with a brief, written justification for each payment submitted by the agency employee who approved the payment.”
The system is required to include a way for an agency head to quickly review the expense and the justification by the employee who approved the expense.
Review of Covered Contracts and Grants
Agencies are directed to review covered contracts and grants and terminate or modify them to reduce government spending or reallocate spending to “promote efficiency and advance the policies of my Administration.” Each agency head is ordered to complete this review within 30 days.
Contract and Grant Process Review
Each agency is to review the agency contracting policies, procedures, and personnel within 30 days. It directed no new contracting officer warrants during the review period, unless the Agency Head determines it is necessary.
Presumably, these are the types of expenses that are to be cancelled as soon as possible:
Real Property Disposition
The Order tells each agency to report within seven days to submit updates to the Federal Real Property Profile Management System to reflect an accurate inventory of real property subject to the agency’s administration.
Also, within 30 days, agencies are to identify termination rights the Agency Head may have under existing leases of Government-owned real property.
Within 60 days, the Administrator of General Services is to provide the Office Management and Budget (OMB) a plan for disposing of Government-owned real property that is no longer needed.
DOGE reports it has also been active in this area where it is seeking to reduce government spending:
Summary
The Trump administration is seriously looking at ways to instill systems to track government expenses and reduce spending. The latest order shows how the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is being integrated into the government structure in an effort to ensure limitations on waste, fraud, and abuse in how government money is being spent.
The Order reflects the priorities of the administration. It applies to most agencies and discretionary spending through Federal contracts, grants, and loans. It does not apply to direct assistance to people or expenditures related to immigration enforcement, law enforcement, the military, public safety, and the intelligence community.
