White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the transparency of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) during a press briefing, responding to questions about the initiative led by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Leavitt emphasized that DOGE has been providing clear and consistent updates on its efforts to make government operations more efficient and accountable.
Leavitt addressed a reporter’s inquiry about providing evidence of wasteful spending uncovered by DOGE.
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She pushed back against claims of a lack of transparency, highlighting that updates are regularly posted online.
“Sure, I would love for Elon Musk to come to the briefing room,” Leavitt said.
“That’s why we had him go to the Oval Office yesterday, where I think he provided great answers. He was speaking in layman’s terms, speaking common sense to all of you in the media, but also to Americans at home, but I would say especially to all of you in the media, because I think it’s a real fallacy that there’s this alleged lack of transparency when it comes to DOGE.”
She noted that DOGE operates an X account that posts daily updates and maintains a website where contracts and halted payments are publicly listed.
“President Trump and Elon Musk have been incredibly transparent on what DOGE is doing. There is an X account with the DOGE handle. They are tweeting out what they are doing on a daily basis. They have a website where they are posting the receipts of the contracts that they are reviewing and the payments that they have stopped from going out the door,” she stated.
Leavitt contrasted Musk’s role with previous bureaucrats, arguing that his high profile makes the initiative more open to public scrutiny.
“Before it was Elon Musk making our government efficient and accountable, it was some unnamed bureaucrat that none of you knew. Elon Musk is the richest man in the world. He’s also now one of the most highly scrutinized men in the world, alongside President Trump, because of what he’s doing and the access that he is allowing. So there’s great transparency,” she added.
To illustrate the administration’s efforts, Leavitt presented specific contracts identified by DOGE as examples of inefficient government spending.
“As for the actual receipts, we are happy to provide them, and I actually brought some today, because all of you know I love to bring the receipts. We have contracts upon contracts that we can send and provide this information to you. Let me be very clear, we are not trying to hide anything. We have been incredibly transparent, and we will continue to be,” she said.
She then listed several contracts DOGE had identified, including:
- $36,000 spent by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on a DEI contract that conflicts with the president’s America First policies.
- $3.4 million allocated to a “Council for Inclusive Innovation” at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- $150,700 spent on a climate change project in Sri Lanka, which Leavitt questioned in terms of its benefit to American interests.
“Oh, I love this—$150,700 for climate change in Sri Lanka. What is this doing to continue the interests of the American people? Absolutely nothing,” she said.
Leavitt stressed that these expenditures are just a few of the wasteful line items DOGE is uncovering every day.
The White House Press Secretary concluded by reiterating the administration’s commitment to openness, pointing out that DOGE has brought attention to issues that were previously unknown to the public.
“There’s a lot of paper that we can show you, but we’re happy to do it. This administration has been more than transparent about what DOGE is doing,” she said.
Leavitt also referenced a recent DOGE update about a government mining project in Pennsylvania, noting how few Americans were aware of such initiatives before Musk highlighted them in the Oval Office.
“Did anybody know this was even happening in our country before Elon Musk talked about it in the Oval Office yesterday? A lot of Americans didn’t. So we are providing transparency and accessibility on a daily basis when it comes to DOGE,” she concluded.
WOW. Reporter presses Karoline Leavitt for “proof” of these ridiculous contracts DOGE is terminating… and she literally pulls out the pieces of paper and rattles off each one.
LEAVITT: This is a real fallacy that there is a ‘lack of transparency’ in DOGE. Musk and Trump… pic.twitter.com/XKWC23XfFk
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 12, 2025
The Biden-era spending policies DOGE is uncovering are expected to remain a major focus for the Trump administration as it continues its mission to cut government waste and increase accountability.
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