Those squawking about efforts to root out government waste, fraud and abuse act as if it's a dangerous, new concept. They obviously haven't been paying attention. The Budget & Accounting Act of 1921 birthed the Government Accounting Office, which was DOGE before Elon Musk rode into Washington.
The GAO is a non-partisan congressional watchdog overseeing how the federal government operates and spends taxpayers money. The 104-year-old agency, renamed the Government Accountability Office in 2004, has recommended thousands of ways to save billions of dollars during its long history.
This little known agency has examined every nook and cranny of the federal government from Social Security, to the Department of Defense weapons systems, to Medicaid, foreign aid, cybersecurity, Internal Revenue Service, to Health and Human Services and federal disaster programs.
The agency's reports are circulated to Congress, often detailing waste, potential fraud and efficiency improvements. On occasion, their findings are used by lawmakers to highlight the government's shortcomings in Congressional hearings. Sometimes the agency work receives muted news coverage.
But there's one problem. Federal agencies cited in the GAO's reports more often than not equivocate in adopting changes to address glaring weaknesses. Unlike Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, the GAO does not have authority to force federal agencies to cut waste or implement findings.
An examination of selective reports by this writer found an alarming number of instances where agencies made little progress, despite calls to implement cost savings, modernize outdated systems, manage fraud risks, address human resource violations and harden cybersecurity protection.
To underscore the recalcitrance, the GAO in February catalogued 4,387 recommendations it had made since 2010, but noted that 764 had not been fully implemented five years later. Of the 1,881suggestions involving so-called, "high-risk" areas, 463 have not been completed as of this year.
Translation: the government bureaucracy resists warnings and suggestions for improvement.
In some cases, the GAO's reports have served as a road map for DOGE to inspect deficiencies. For instance, agency reports in 2023 and 2024 pointed out that "fraud poses a significant risk" at the USAID (United States Agency for International Development.).
In its letter to the agency, GAO used unsparing language: "Our first priority recommendation calls for agency guidance to require regular fraud risk assessments for USAID programs and documentation of program-specific fraud risk profiles.."
Sure enough, DOGE ferreted out USAID funds that ended up funding Al Qaeda affiliated fighters in Syria and supporting poppy production in Afghanistan, benefiting the Taliban. Two Hamas linked groups were on the receiving end of USAID funding funneled through a third party.
After the hurricane and fire damage devastated many cities, it came as no surprise to the GAO that residents were unsatisfied with the federal government response. The GAO offered this blistering assessment of the federal approach in its 2025 report:
"...disaster recovery is fragmented across 30 federal entities. So many entities involved with multiple programs and authorities, differing requirements and timeframes, and limited data sharing across entities could make it harder for survivors and communities to navigate federal programs."
Translation: There should be a consolidation of agencies and responsibilities to improve efforts to get aid faster to Americans who need it.
When Musk called for the return of government workers to their offices, it was greeted with cries of outrage from politicians and unions. But not one media organization pointed out that the GAO had identified the cost to American taxpayers of maintaining empty buildings.
In a report, the GAO underscored annual maintenance and operating costs for the 277,000 government buildings was $10.3 billion in 2023. The agency calculated that with the wholesale adoption of telework, deferred maintenance and underutilization costs totaled $370 billion in 2024.
That's chump change for your federal government. Since 2002, the GAO wrote that federal agencies have reported about $2.8 TRILLION in estimated improper payments, including over $150 billion government-wide in each of the last seven years.
Now you know why there was so much push back when Musk wanted to review federal payment data.
DOGE and its champion Musk will eventually fade into history. If government worked the way our Constitutional framers intended, lawmakers would grab the reins and hold federal agencies accountable. Unfortunately, they often have been doing just the opposite: feeding the unaccountable beast.
The GAO, with a workforce of 3,100, has demonstrated its chops for uncovering waste and inefficiency. But it lacks teeth to force change. Congress should consider legislating authority for the GAO to compel departments to comply in a timely manner with its recommendations or risk budget and force cuts.
Without drastic changes, 100 years from now another Elon Musk will be needed to take a chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy.
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