Politics
Nearly 40% of contracts canceled by DOGE are expected to produce no savings
Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that the Trump administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows.
The Department of Government Efficiency run by Elon Musk last week published an initial list of 1,125 contracts that it terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 417 in all, are expected to yield no savings.
That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so.
“It’s like confiscating used ammunition after it’s been shot when there’s nothing left in it. It doesn’t accomplish any policy objective,” said Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and expert on government contracting law. “Their terminating so many contracts pointlessly obviously doesn’t accomplish anything for saving money.”
Dozens of them were for already-paid subscriptions to The Associated Press, Politico and other media services that the administration said it would discontinue. Others were for research studies that have been awarded, training that has taken place, software that has been purchased and interns that have come and gone.
An administration official said it made sense to cancel contracts that are seen as potential dead weight, even if the moves do not yield any savings. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In all, DOGE data says the 417 contracts in question had a total value of $478 million. Dozens of other canceled contracts are expected to yield little if any savings.
“It’s too late for the government to change its mind on many of these contracts and walk away from its payment obligation,” said Tiefer, who served on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tiefer said DOGE appeared to be taking a “slash and burn” approach to cutting contracts, which he said could damage the performance of government agencies. He said savings could be made instead by working with agency contracting officers and inspectors general to find efficiencies, an approach the administration has not taken.
DOGE says the overall contract cancellations are expected to save more than $7 billion so far, an amount that has been questioned as inflated by independent experts.
The canceled contracts were to purchase a wide range of goods and services.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a contract in September to purchase and install office furniture at various branches. While the contract does not expire until later this year, federal records show the agency had already agreed to spend the maximum $567,809 with a furniture company.
The U.S. Agency for International Development negotiated a $145,549 contract last year to clean the carpet at its headquarters in Washington. But the full amount had already been obligated to a firm that is owned by a Native American tribe based in Michigan.
Another already-spent $249,600 contract went to a Washington, D.C., firm to help prepare the Department of Transportation for the recent transition from the Biden to the Trump administration.
Some of the canceled contracts were intended to modernize and improve the way government works, which would seem to be at odds with DOGE’s cost-cutting mission.
One of the largest, for instance, went to a consulting firm to help carry out a reorganization at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which led the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The maximum $13.6 million had already been obligated to Deloitte Consulting for help with the restructuring, which included closing several research offices.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
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U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody has formally filed as a candidate seeking another two years in the Senate in 2026.
The Plant City Republican submitted her statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. Meanwhile, a political committee that supported Moody’s two successful runs for Florida Attorney General has emptied its coffers and donated nearly $3.85 million to a state committee.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Moody in January to replace former U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio after his confirmation as Secretary of State. Moody will hold the seat until the 2026 election, which will determine who serves the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.
In filing for the federal office, Moody established Moody For Florida as her principal campaign committee. The moves formally make the recent Senate appointee a candidate for federal office for the first time.
The committee was formed in January, but takes on new significance now that Moody has filed her candidacy and designated that as her official committee.
A joint fundraising account, the Ashley Moody Victory Fund, was also created in January. That committee can raise funds alongside Florida Leads, a leadership committee also established in connection with Moody’s candidacy, and with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the fundraising arm for Senate Republicans.
Tampa political accountant Kirsten Quick of Crosby Ottenhoff Group has been named as the committee’s official Treasurer and custodian of records for all the Moody-connected committees. All those committees are keeping deposits at the Chain Bridge Bank in McLean, Virginia.
As Moody turns her attention to her run for federal office, Friends of Ashley Moody, a state committee that supported her previous runs for state office, formally disbanded on Feb. 18. Before doing so, the committee contributed almost $3.85 million to the Protect Florida PAC.
Like Friends of Ashley Moody, the committee is chaired by Melanie Bonanno with Rich Heitmeyer serving as Treasurer.
While the Friends account at one point seemed poised to support a potential run for Governor for Moody, it could not support a campaign for federal office.
Notably, the Protect Florida committee, which was formed in 2023, must focus on state and local races in Florida. Moody had previously filed paperwork allowing her to solicit donations for the Protect Florida committee but withdrew that in January following her Senate appointment. But a website for the committee still says it is associated with Moody.
Expenditures reported by Protect Florida include $17,500 spent with Tallahassee firm Image Management on media consulting and advertising. They also show $5,000 spent with Seneca Strategies, a Virginia firm founded by Tucker Obenshain, who previously worked with DeSantis’ presidential campaign.
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Politics
Gov. DeSantis says I-75 project will free up traffic and bring ‘Shangri-La of service stations’
A construction project to expand a busy stretch of Interstate 75 known for traffic jams is getting sped up, Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference in Ocala.
DeSantis had previously announced his Moving Florida Forward plan to spend $4 billion over five years to tackle more than 20 road constructions in congested areas across the state.
“With Moving Florida Forward, we are able to infuse $541 million to accelerate this I-75 project, where we are creating more lanes on I-75 between State Road 44 and State Road 326. That is going to make a difference for people,” DeSantis said at Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing. “I saw the traffic and I’m like, ‘I’ve got money in the kitty. We can’t wait 15 years. We’ve got to get going now.’”
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue called the area “one of the worst sections of interstate in the entire state of Florida.”
“We’re super excited about this investment, and you’re going to start to see a lot of work happening out there,” Perdue said.
DeSantis’ infrastructure plan targets several interstate and major roadways that are increasingly more congested as Florida’s population has exploded in recent years. Packed roads can also impede hurricane evacuations, DeSantis said at the press conference.
DeSantis used the press conference as an opportunity to clap back over social distancing rules other states had at the height of the pandemic. The remarks came when he mentioned one of the road constructions is to widen U.S. 98 in Bay County to give more access to Panama City Beach.
“You were in the Panhandle, you didn’t even know COVID existed,” DeSantis said offhandedly. “And their Summer of 2020 was the bestSummer for them in terms of revenue.”
Redoing the I-75 interchange will create an opportunity to bring a Buc-ee’s convenience store by the exit, DeSantis said.
“Who has been to a Buc–ee’s before? OK, most of you,” DeSantis asked the crowd during his press conference. “It’s like the Shangri-La of service stations. It is unbelievable. It’s merchandise. You want beef jerky, they make it onsite. Barbecue, ice cream, baked goods, I mean, you name it.”
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