US’s Story of Waste, Fraud and Abuse: Here’s What We Know

Haripriya Mishra

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03-04-2025

5 min read

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President Trump and the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led byElon Musk,have alleged that diversity and climate change fraud has been discovered. This has brought to light the historic phrase “waste, fraud, and abuse,” leading to protests in Atlanta on February 4.

Waste, Fraud and Abuse

Musk, with his team DOGE as a special government employee, has tried to operate on several government departments to find alleged financial fraud, during the Oval Office meeting on February 11. President Trump mentioned billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse as a result of cutting off the spending. He had added, We found fraud and abuse, I would say those two words as opposed to the third word that I usually use, but in this case, fraud and abuse.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) definition, Waste is waste is using or expending resources carelessly, extravagantly or to no purpose. Obtaining something of value through willful misrepresentation is Fraud, and deficient or improper behavior is abuse.
A former GAO officer named David M. Walker from the Democratic and Republican administrations stated that most of the evidence given by Musks DOGE is examples of waste and abuse.

The president included the words “fraud” and “fraudsters” by repeating the historical phrase; however, he did not provide any evidence. She answered by saying, I love to bring the receipts

The receipts
Leavitt has awarded three government contracts, which she labeled fraudulent and an abuse of American taxpayers’ dollars. These contracts include $57,000 for climate change initiatives in Sri Lanka, $36,000 for DEI programs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and $3.4 million for the Council for Inclusive Innovation at theU.S.Patent and Trademark Office.

Fraud, Abuse, or Waste?
A report from the Associated Press states that the federal governments spending in 2023 reached $6.7 trillion. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that by implementing its recommendations, the government has saved $66 million since 2011. Trump’s claims lack substantial evidence. Instead, the federal government’s spending includes ‘improper payments’ related to programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment insurance.

Walker from GAO had said, Fraud is a very high legal standard, to qualify as fraud, an activity has to be illegal with evidence of intent, which is the most difficult thing to prove

During the COVID-19 pandemic, special government programs likely faced heightened levels of outright fraud due to identity theft. This included attempts by foreign nations to exploit the system for funds that may not be recoverable.

Addressing all of these claims, a former inspector general of the federal government named Bob Westbrooks said, Waste is in the eye of the beholder thats a political issue.