The Department of Veterans Affairs was paying about $380,000 each month for website maintenance before ending the contract and assigning the work to an internal employee, according to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In a recent post on X, DOGE revealed that the VA’s prior contract for minor website modifications is no longer active. A single VA software engineer is now handling that same workload in roughly 10 hours per week. The finding has sparked renewed scrutiny over how taxpayer money was being used prior to DOGE’s audits.
DOGE uncovered the contract while reviewing federal spending data as part of its broader mission to root out waste and inefficiency across government agencies. The VA has not responded to requests for comment on the contract.
VA Secretary Doug Collins has defended the spending cuts at the department, describing them as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reform how the VA operates and direct more funding toward veterans’ care and services.
In February, the VA announced that eliminating more than 1,000 positions would allow the department to redirect an estimated $98 million annually into core services for veterans.
The Department of Government Efficiency was launched through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 20. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has been the public face of the initiative, which is tasked with slashing federal waste, streamlining operations, and delivering results within an 18-month window.
Along with the VA contract, DOGE recently announced it had terminated 113 other contracts worth $4.7 billion.
This included a U.S. Department of Agriculture deal involving climate change efforts in Peru. The agency also canceled $577 million in foreign labor grants, amounting to $237 million in taxpayer savings. These funds had previously gone toward projects such as promoting gender equity in Mexico’s workforce and worker empowerment programs in Central America.
As of April 2, DOGE reports it has saved American taxpayers $140 billion—an average of $869.57 per taxpayer. While the agency has its critics, many Americans view its mission as long overdue.