All articles tagged with #gao
Senate Democrats failed to pass a bill blocking President Trump's $810 million 'pocket rescission' after Sen. Ron Johnson objected. The move freezes funds for immigrant services and climate programs until the fiscal year ends, bypassing congressional review. The Government Accountability Office has declared the practice illegal, but no immediate legal action has been taken.
Senate Republicans voted 51-47 to block a Democratic-led resolution demanding a State Department report on violence in the West Bank, with all Democrats supporting the measure except Sen. John Fetterman. Simultaneously, the Government Accountability Office declared President Trump’s recent $810 million 'pocket rescission' unconstitutional, while the administration faced bipartisan criticism for using federal funds to air pro-Trump television ads ahead of the November midterms.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals that ICE has wasted tens of millions of dollars on detention expansion due to a lack of strategic planning. The agency spent $1.07 billion on 11 warehouses, seven of which are now being sold, and paid excessive rates for facilities like 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has wasted tens of millions of dollars on detention initiatives without a strategic plan. Key findings include $3 million spent on unused tents at Guantanamo Bay, $20 million in unrecoverable costs for warehouses now being sold, and excessive per-diem rates for Florida facilities. The report criticizes ICE for lacking long-term affordability assessments despite receiving $45 billion in new funding.
A GAO report warns FAA radio-communications used to guide aircraft are vulnerable to spoofing and jamming, contributing to a morning ground stop at Newark, Philadelphia, and Teterboro. The FAA has not completed risk assessments or implemented real-time threat monitoring, prompting nine recommendations that the DOT agreed to pursue and renewed calls from lawmakers to secure aviation communications.
A GAO report finds USPS cost-cutting measures have slowed mail delivery beyond its lowered targets: shifting some transportation from air to ground added one to two days for some first-class mail, and about 24,000 post offices could lose afternoon collections when far from processing centers, disproportionately affecting rural communities and raising ballot-day concerns ahead of the midterms, even as USPS promises improvements and the GAO calls for a clearer plan in the 2027 strategy.
A GAO audit reports the Trump administration’s aggressive effort to shrink the federal workforce included a $6.7 billion paid-exit program for workers who quit, part of a broader push that cut the federal headcount by about 300,000 (13%) since 2024 to its smallest size in nearly two decades. The administration touts hundreds of billions in savings, while critics warn the strategy eroded expertise and left agencies understaffed.
A Denver-born man, Morales García, was detained after a Texas traffic stop, deported to Mexico for nearly five months despite repeatedly asserting U.S. citizenship, and only allowed back home after a federal lawsuit and newly reviewed records. The case highlights a broader pattern of U.S. citizens being swept into immigration enforcement, with GAO findings showing inconsistent data and safeguards, and advocates calling for accountability as enforcement expands.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen below 300 million barrels as 172 million barrels are drawn to address disruptions from the Iran war, prompting warnings from experts and the GAO that repeated drawdowns could deform salt caverns and compromise long-term emergency response. DOE says caverns remain stable, but analysts warn the practical floor is about 250–300 million barrels, with current plans placing the SPR around 243 million after the drawdown, raising concerns about hurricane risk and outages that could further reduce available inventory.
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 298.7 million barrels last week, a four-decade low and below 300 million for the first time since January 1983, as ongoing releases amid supply pressures from Iran reduce stockpiles. The SPR’s drawdown has been supported by previous orders, with the minimum safe level around 70 million barrels; GAO warns aging infrastructure limits drawdown capability, though officials say there is enough oil left to allow another release if needed.
A Government Accountability Office audit concluded Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency failed to deliver its promised savings, with roughly half of the claimed $61 billion in contract savings unverified or based on contracts that were not actually terminated, and grant savings largely unverified, raising questions about the program's credibility and impact.
A Government Accountability Office audit of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency shows its claimed savings were largely unverified: roughly half of the $61 billion in contract savings couldn’t be verified, thousands of terminations weren’t actually completed, leases were miscounted, and grant savings remained unverified, casting doubt on Musk’s sweeping spending-cut promises and the program’s effectiveness.
A GAO audit found DOGE’s claimed Wall of Receipts savings largely unverifiable, with 96% of reported grant savings unsubstantiated and many contract and lease figures not calculated using DOGE’s own methodology. DOGE had touted about $215 billion in savings, but the review of $110.3 billion revealed methodological gaps and possible overstatements. The report also notes missing ethics/training disclosures for DOGE personnel and urges displaying data quality limitations on the Wall of Receipts.
GAO reviewed 206 Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) personnel in the Executive Office of the President from Jan 2025 to Jan 2026, including 27 special government employees, with roles at USDS, the White House Office, and OMB (and some detailees/volunteers). Although EOP says DOGE staff receive ethics and records-management training, GAO could not verify due to lack of access to training records and financial disclosures. Nine agencies provided data on 64 DOGE personnel, showing 49 ethics trainings, 18 records-management trainings, and 38 financial disclosures, but some cases appeared to be out of the home-agency record. The Office of Government Ethics noted limited oversight of DOGE and no plans to review USDS’s ethics program, particularly after the temporary DOGE structure ended on July 4, 2026. GAO also found that EOP did not respond to requests for interviews.
GAO finds DOGE’s touted $110 billion in federal savings is inaccurate and poorly substantiated. In a review of $110B in contracts, the GAO found that 108 of 264 leases identified for termination were already winding down before DOGE existed; DOGE overstated lease savings by more than $80 million and provided insufficient information to verify contract terminations. The report also notes that more than half of contracts listed were not ended or lacked enough detail to determine status, and about 96% of grant savings could not be verified using DOGE’s methodology. With the DOGE program set to sunset, lawmakers criticized the effort as deceptive, and CNN and others reported additional errors on its site.