DOGE Deactivates 500K Credit Cards, Cuts 400 NIH Contracts, Impacts Bay Area

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Updated May 9, 2025, 06:49 PM

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has deactivated over 500,000 government credit cards as part of an ongoing audit aimed at reducing waste. The audit, which began with 4.6 million active accounts, has now expanded to include 32 government agencies. These cards had processed 90 million transactions, amounting to $40 billion in spending for fiscal year 2024, with an average transaction of $441. Twelve agencies are reported to be at 90% audit completion or higher. DOGE head Elon Musk has highlighted the issue of seemingly unlimited use of these cards, noting the high limits and potential for shady expenditures. In addition to the credit card deactivation, DOGE has also terminated over 400 contracts with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in line with a directive to cut contract spending by 35%. This includes a $676,000 contract for storing NESARC-III samples, which are crucial for research into psychiatric and substance use disorders. The termination of these contracts has raised concerns about the future of valuable research resources, such as the storage of frozen spit samples at Rutgers University. The impact of DOGE's efforts extends to the Bay Area, where more than 100 contracts with local businesses and nonprofits have been cut, leading to layoffs and uncertainty. These cuts, totaling over $117 million, are part of a broader initiative to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government. DOGE claims to have saved over $32 billion by cancelling more than 9,000 government contracts and slashing grants, which have also affected research across Bay Area institutions. Furthermore, DOGE has collaborated with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to shift federal retirement processing to a digital system, aiming to modernize federal systems and address long-standing inefficiencies.

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#Department of Government Efficiency #DOGE #Elon Musk #National Institutes of Health #NIH #Rutgers University #Bay Area #OPM

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Sources

statnews.com(3)mlive.com(2)wate.com nbcbayarea.com

WATE 6 On Your Side

@6News

University of Tennessee loses $37M in grant funding amid federal funding cuts https://t.co/648u5NxYjI

Aaron Bean

@RepAaronBean

🇺🇸 DIGITAL RETIREMENT OVERHAUL: @DOGE and @USOPM just dragged federal retirement processing out of the Stone Age! The shift to a digital retirement system under DOGE's influence exposes the decades-long failure to bring our federal systems into the 21st century and the https://t.co/yz2kQYBRk5

Gideon Gil

@GideonGil

NIH employees describe rushed and disorderly process to meet Trump- and DOGE-ordered 35% reduction in contract spending: From pandemic preparedness to precious frozen spit, NIH contract terminations cut deep https://t.co/3LQ0Jfdx5Z via @statnews