The Department of Government Efficiency has a new area of analysis. It’s one that a former head of the Government Accountability Office suggested during PBS NewsHour on Wednesday, though it’s nothing that you haven’t heard of, nor would it be shocking.
Former Comptroller General David Walker said that health care, taxes, and contracting are areas where DOGE should really zero in regarding waste and fraud, especially over COVID payments. Walker said he wouldn’t be shocked if this agency found around $1 trillion in fraud and abuse, as things were the wild west during the pandemic (via Breitbart):
Co-host Amna Nawaz asked, “Where else would you want to see them point their efforts? In your experience, where are some of those big-ticket items when it comes to waste and fraud?”
Walker answered, “Health care is number one. There [are] also a lot of problems with regard to certain payments, in particular, with regard to our COVID payments that were made. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a trillion dollars of, frankly, fraud and abuse with regard to that item. Taxes, we have a lot of situations where there’s a lot of improper activity that goes on with regard to our tax system, and also, contracting activities. So, those are some of the areas that I think are the most fruitful.”
Regarding contracting, Nawaz wondered if Walker was referring to those handed out by the Defense Department, to which Walker agreed. The Pentagon is one of the largest contracting agencies in government. If USAID were shuttered due to rampant wasteful spending on things like $20 million to bring Sesame Street to Iraq, then for sure, the Pentagon would have some weird items, albeit with a higher price tag.
REPORT: Former Government Accountability Office chief David Walker says DOGE should investigate COVID payments, according to Breitbart News.
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) February 13, 2025
"I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a trillion dollars of, frankly, fraud and abuse with regard to that item.” pic.twitter.com/m1DghREfkZ
We spent $20 million on a Sesame Street show in Iraq. It probably looked something like this Lmaooo pic.twitter.com/BGkKEFSjaf
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 6, 2025
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