DOGE Slashes $1 Billion in DEI Contracts

Published: 1/31/2025, 11:18:48 PM EST

DOGE Slashes $1 Billion in DEI Contracts — Elon Musk, Co-chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 5, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has slashed one billion dollars in federal government contracts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The canceled contracts cover a wide range of government departments and agencies, DOGE announced Friday in a post on X.

A total of 104 contracts have been cut from departments including the Departments of State, Education, Health, and Defense through Jan. 29. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Veteran's Affairs also saw cuts in federal DEI-related contracts.

According to the Friday update, the Treasury Department saw 21 contracts canceled, the most from this recent round of cost-cutting. The Office of Personnel Management, the federal government's chief human resources and policy management agency, saw only three contracts canceled but had the highest savings at over $494 million.

Earlier this week, DOGE announced it canceled $45 million worth of DEI scholarships in Burma.

DEI initiatives have become one of the first DOGE cost-cutting targets.

"DOGE is saving the Federal Government [approximately] $1 billion/day, mostly from stopping the hiring of people into unnecessary positions, deletion of DEI and stopping improper payments to foreign organizations, all consistent with the President’s Executive Orders. A good start, though this number needs to increase to > $3 billion/day," the department wrote in a Wednesday post on X.

President Donald Trump on the first day of his presidency signed an executive order to implement the DOGE agenda to "maximize governmental efficiency and productivity." Trump also directed all federal agencies to terminate DEI programs and offices, purging many employees from their positions.

The issue of DEI in general has emerged as a top priority in the president's second term. Trump has often expressed opposition to DEI initiatives, arguing that workers should be hired on merit only. Advocates, however, believe that DEI programs are necessary to create opportunities for minority groups.

Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX CEO, was chosen by Trump to lead the new department aimed at reducing wasteful spending and eliminating unnecessary regulations. Musk has emphasized the importance of DOGE's efforts to rein in federal spending and reduce the U.S. deficit.

In addition to purging DEI contracts and programs, DOGE is also looking at new technologies and automation tools to further increase efficiency across federal agencies, which it says will lead to even more long-term savings.