DOGE suspends over 500,000 federal credit cards in crackdown on government waste

By lauraharris // 2025-05-18

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DOGE, led by Elon Musk and established under Trump, has deactivated over 500,000 federal credit cards (10 percent of all active accounts) to curb misuse of taxpayer funds.
Audits revealed systemic abuse, with employees using government cards for personal luxuries like designer clothing, electronics, manicures and high-end meals instead of official expenses.
Starting with 200,000 cards across 16 agencies in March, DOGE has now suspended cards in 32 agencies, aiming to streamline federal spending.
With funding cut off, many implicated employees are losing their jobs, and some are reportedly turning to radical actions in response.
Before DOGE's intervention, $40 billion annually flowed through these cards with minimal accountability. Watchdogs highlight weak enforcement, though audits are now forcing stricter justification for spending.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk and established by President Donald Trump earlier this year, has deactivated more than half a million federal credit cards to eliminate wasteful government spending. DOGE first suspended 200,000 cards across 16 federal agencies in March. Since then, the effort has more than doubled in scope, with additional cuts expected as the agency pushes for a leaner federal financial system. The initiative has now expanded to 32 federal agencies, targeting the misuse of taxpayer funds, including unauthorized personal expenses such as luxury meals, designer clothing, electronics and even manicures. (Related: DOGE unveils $400M unemployment fraud scandal: Toddlers, futuristic birthdates fuel outcry.) As a result, DOGE's latest audit revealed that over 500,000 cards – more than 10 percent of the government's estimated 4.6 million active accounts – have been suspended. The revoked cards were part of the General Services Administration's (GSA) SmartPay system, which processes billions in government transactions annually. Federal employees and contractors had used the cards for legitimate expenses, but DOGE investigators uncovered widespread fraud, with funds diverted to personal indulgences rather than official business. According to DOGE, the widespread abuse of government-issued credit cards had become a systemic issue, with employees across multiple agencies exploiting funds for personal indulgences. Now, with the financial spigot turned off, many of those implicated are facing job losses, and some are reportedly resorting to more extreme measures in response. "The program to audit unused/unneeded credit cards has been expanded to 32 agencies. After 10 weeks, more than 500K cards have been deactivated," the DOGE statement posted on X read. "As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were – 4.6M active cards/accounts, so still more work to do."

DOGE's intervention exposes lax oversight over federal credit card abuse

Before the audit, approximately $40 billion in annual federal spending flowed through these credit cards, with lax oversight allowing rampant misuse. Data from recent GSA SmartPay statistics reveals the staggering scale of the problem: In the last fiscal year alone, federal credit cards facilitated 90 million transactions worth $39.7 billion – a sharp increase from previous years, even as thousands of cards sat unused. It also reveals $506 million in refunds earned by agencies and an average of $441 per transaction – raising questions about whether all purchases were justified. Despite Federal Acquisition Regulation 4.606(a)(2) requiring purchase card data to be reported to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), the information is not currently being submitted. Instead, it is only available on the GSA SmartPay website, limiting public accountability. A GSA spokesperson stated that an updated Purchase Card Statistics Report for FPDS will be published in the future but did not provide a timeline. Watchdog groups have long warned that lax oversight allowed abuse to flourish, with few consequences for offenders. Fortunately, DOGE's intervention has already disrupted long-standing patterns of abuse, forcing agencies to justify every dollar spent. As the audit continues, the fallout from the suspensions is expected to ripple across Washington, with more terminations and potentially more unrest on the horizon. Visit BigGovernment.news for stories similar to this. Watch the video below that talks about Democrats freaking out over DOGE.

This video is from the Son of the Republic channel on Brighteon.com.

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DOGE's intervention exposes lax oversight over federal credit card abuse

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