The Department of Government Efficiency has deleted one of its more bizarre claims: that it had saved taxpayers $53.7 million by “canceling” a federal contract that actually ended in 2005.
The New York Times reported on that mistake last week. It was part of a pattern at DOGE, which has repeatedly posted errors on its “wall of receipts” that inflated its success — and seemed to demonstrate a basic unfamiliarity with the machinery of government.
On Wednesday, DOGE removed any mention of the long-dead contract from its website.
But, at the same time, the group resurrected one of the largest errors it has made so far — claiming that it had saved $1.9 billion by canceling an Internal Revenue Service contract for tech help with a Northern Virginia company.
That company’s contract was actually canceled in November, under President Joseph R. Biden.
DOGE posted that error last week. Then deleted it on Sunday. Then, on Wednesday, the group put it back up.
The White House and the Treasury Department, which includes the I.R.S., did not respond to questions about the claim.