Federal spending since President Donald Trump's inauguration, despite the efforts of his Department of Government Efficiency, has climbed by $154 billion over the same period a year ago during then-President Joe Biden's administration, according to an analysis of the Treasury Department's daily financial statements.
DOGE, under the leadership of tech billionaire and key Trump adviser Elon Musk, has claimed cuts of $150 billion through cuts to contracts, jobs, and ending diversity programs, but those changes have not yet changed the bottom line on spending, reports The Wall Street Journal on Friday, after a review of the Treasury statements.
The government's income, with taxes and tariffs, is up, but it has not risen to the point of controlling the higher spending.
In the last fiscal year alone, $4.9 trillion, which is 73% of the federal government's spending, paid for interest on the national debt and for mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
This year, Social Security payments are $32.7 billion higher since Trump took office in January than they were at this time in 2024.
The higher costs come as a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment has gone into effect and because 1.3 million new beneficiaries signed up for benefits in the past year.
Trump has promised that Social Security benefits will stay untouched. DOGE says it has been eliminating fraudulent claims and cutting staff to pull back on the costs to the agency.
Medicare and Medicaid spending are outpacing last year's levels, climbing by about $29 billion since Trump took office.
The programs' growing spending comes as a result of climbing costs for healthcare and increasing enrollment.
Overall, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid resulted in roughly 43% of the government's spending in the last fiscal year.
Musk has warned that the growing cost of interest on the national debt, meanwhile, could encompass the full federal budget if it remains unchecked.
Since Trump returned to office, the federal government has paid out $25.5 billion more in interest than it did during the same time last year, due to rising interest rates and the growing national debt.
Meanwhile, DOGE's efforts to terminate at least 25,000 probationary federal workers and to slash foreign aid funds are being fought in the courts.
Federal salary payments have also climbed by $2.8 billion this year, partially because of a 2% pay raise Biden approved that went into effect in January.
Thousands of federal employees took buyout offers, but they remain on the government payroll through September.
Martha Gimbel, the executive director and co-founder of the Budget Lab at Yale, said the buyouts may have led to increased costs, as many employees who had planned to either retire or quit their government jobs accepted buyouts to collect their paychecks.
DOGE also attempted to cut costs through cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). After the Supreme Court rejected a request from the administration to delay payouts to the aid program, spending in recent weeks has almost returned to the levels from 2024.
There were some lower spending totals this year, the Treasury reports indicate.
The Transportation Security Administration spent $22 million less this year through cuts to travel and training costs as well as delaying spending costs on new uniforms, and spending dropped $4 billion at the Education Department, which has been targeted for closure.