ABOUT half a million credit cards have been cancelled in the United States this month.
The move comes as part of an initiative from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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DOGE, notably headed by billionaire Elon Musk, was established after President Donald Trump took office in January.
Its mission has been to reduce the “bloated” size of the federal government, and actions have already been taken to that effect through mass layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.
Now, credit cards belonging to government officials among 30 different agencies are being axed.
Through the credit card suspension, DOGE seeks to save money and limit government spending.
Read More on Credit Cards
It also emphasized that the credit cards being removed were either not in use anymore or were “unneeded,” per a Tuesday post on X.
“Credit Card Update! The program to audit unused/unneeded credit cards has been expanded to 30 agencies,” it read.
“After 7 weeks, ~470k cards have been deactivated. As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were ~4.6M active cards/accounts, so still more work to do.”
The April card cancellations come not long after the suspension of 200,000 across 16 agencies last month.
COSTLY CARDS
DOGE reported that the 4.6 million that were operational when the Trump administration took office accounted for about $40 billion in government spending in 2024.
There have also been some unintended side effects of the cuts, per Newsweek.
For example, some of the credit card deactivations from last month involved the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The TSA used the cards to make purchases that supported bomb-sniffing dog units in airports.
Still, a spokesperson for the TSA told the publication that while the credit cards had a 30-day restriction, “canine operations have not been adversely affected by this effort.”
Musk also called the number of active credit cards used by federal officials “crazy” in a post on X earlier this month.
What is DOGE?
The US DOGE Service Temporary Organization, also called the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, is an initiative created by President Donald Trump and led by billionaire Elon Musk.
DOGE was created to significantly reduce federal spending and “modernize federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
When first introduced, it aimed to save as much as $2 trillion dollars annually.
The organization cited that it has already saved $65 billion in government spending, although the number has not been verified.
DOGE has already made significant cuts across multiple agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of Education, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Twice as many credit cards are issued and active than the total number of government employees!” he noted.
DOGE has also promised to continue the credit card reduction program and will include more government agencies moving forward.
EXPERT’S THOUGHTS
Finance expert Michael Ryan, founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, emphasized that credit cards are used for quick and vital actions by some government agencies.
“These aren’t your typical consumer credit cards,” he told Newsweek.
“We’re looking at lifelines for federal agencies — cards that keep the lights on, quite literally.”
“Need to book a last-minute flight for a critical meeting? There’s a card for that. Emergency maintenance part for a military vehicle? Yep, another card,” Ryan added.
“Office supplies for a research lab working on something that could change the world? You guessed it — another card.”
Some Americans are also expecting $5,000 “dividend” stimulus checks from DOGE soon.
DOGE also recently exposed an underground mine with 22,000 cabinets stuffed with government documents.
