The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is continuing its work finding waste fraud and abuse in the federal government in its stated quest to cut $2 trillion a year from the bloated budget and balance the books for the first time in decades.
In a 48-hour period last week, DOGE slashed 62 contracts worth $182 million from the Department of Health and Human Services, including $168,000 for a museum exhibit on Anthony Fauci, the NIH official who got on President Donald Trump's bad side during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As DOGE pointed out in a post on X, the contracts were only for administrative expenses and no cuts were made on any healthcare programs.
In the past 48 hours, HHS canceled 62 contract worth $182 million. These contracts were entirely for administrative expenses – none touched any healthcare programs. This included terminating a $168,000 contract for an Anthony Fauci exhibit at the NIH Museum. pic.twitter.com/EsZxflPS6w
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 7, 2025
DOGE has been looking into various agencies to see what cuts can be made. It wants to completely get rid of USAID, a source of foreign aid money that was being used to fund woke projects.
The newly formed department is also looking to cut over $100 billion in entitlements to people with no social security numbers.
The Fauci exhibit was in development and was due to be finished in July 2025. It has now been completely scrapped.
Trump had also revoked Fauci's government security detail, which he was granted in 2020 amid the pandemic.
Fauci faces major animosity from Americans who felt the pandemic response--especially mask and vaccine mandates--was overdone.
He also faces suspicion for funding the Wuhan lab that is suspected of having leaked the coronavirus that caused havoc around the world, albeit accidentally (as far as we know).
"I think, you know, when you work for government, at some point your security detail comes off and, you know, you can't have them forever," Trump said of the decision. "We took some off other people, too, but you can't have a security detail for the rest of your life because you work for government."
Former President Joe Biden pardoned Fauci pre-emptively on his last day in office even though Fauci was never charged with a crime.
Prior to being the spokesperson and so-called expert on COVID-19, Fauci famously tried to bring attention to HIV/AIDS before much was known about them.
He later became the public face of the disease as it was recognized and began to be treated.
