A federal task force focused on reducing government waste has successfully recovered $1.9 billion in taxpayer funds that had been misplaced during the Biden administration. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk, uncovered the lost funds in an audit of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
HUD Secretary Scott Turner, who recently created an internal task force to monitor spending, collaborated with DOGE to track down the money. According to reports, the funds had been set aside for financial services but were ultimately not used. DOGE’s findings led to the de-obligation of the funds, making them available again for government use.
BREAKING: DOGE recovers nearly $2 BILLION ‘misplaced’ by Biden’s HUD.
How do you “misplace” $1.9 billion? pic.twitter.com/SZ0XS440vF
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 16, 2025
“With President Trump’s leadership, business as usual — the status quo — is no longer the posture that we will take,” Turner said. “And with the help of DOGE, we will identify and eliminate all waste, fraud, and abuse.”
The $1.9 billion discovery follows other wasteful spending revelations uncovered by DOGE, including millions in questionable grants from the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recently reversed a Biden-era $50 million environmental justice grant and flagged millions more in funds sent to foreign companies.
🚨💥Check this out! 👇👇
$1.9 billion of HUD money was just recovered after being misplaced during the Biden Administration due to a broken process! I am suspicious! Are you? 🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/9yNXNwcUJe— LynneP (@LynneBP_294) February 15, 2025
Turner has vowed that HUD’s new oversight efforts will continue, with officials working to ensure that every dollar is accounted for. In just a few days of internal reviews, the HUD task force has already identified an additional $260 million in potential savings.
DOGE, which operates across multiple federal agencies, has been tasked with rooting out financial mismanagement under the directive of the Trump administration. The effort is expected to reveal even more instances of government waste in the coming months.
