DOGE Staffer Admits Under Oath: "No, We Didn't" Reduce the Deficit
In a viral deposition, a DOGE employee was asked "Did you reduce the federal deficit?" and replied "No, we didn't." The original $2T goal fell to $200B, then nothing. The chaos cost taxpayers an estimated $135 billion.
In a deposition video that went viral on March 16, 2026, DOGE employee Nate Cavanaugh was asked directly: "Did you reduce the federal deficit?" He replied: "No, we didn't." He also said he had no regrets about people losing income from DOGE's grant cancellations.
DOGE's trajectory from promise to failure:
- Original goal: $2 trillion in spending cuts
- By December 2025, Musk conceded the realistic target was $200 billion in "zombie payments"
- Actual DOGE spending cuts passed by Congress: $9.4 billion
- Estimated cost of DOGE chaos (firing, rehiring, paid leave): $135 billion
- Iran war costs by mid-March 2026: $11.6 billion — exceeding all DOGE savings
The Trump administration then asked the Supreme Court to block watchdog group CREW from obtaining DOGE records, arguing DOGE is not a federal "agency" covered by FOIA — claiming the entity that accessed Treasury payment systems, SSA databases, and cancelled billions in grants somehow isn't a government agency.