President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency says it has saved the American taxpayer up to $100,000 a year by taking one simple measure - cutting off unused phone lines.
In a post on X, DOGE says it only took an hour to clear 198 “unused or duplicated” phone lines at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, adding the defunct lines comprised 19% of the office’s 1048 total lines. Cutting those lines alone will save taxpayers about $100,000 per year, DOGE added.
The new cost-saving department estimates that if unused or unnecessary phone lines are cut across all departments, agencies, and offices in the federal government, the cost savings could add up to roughly $100 million a year.
“Since OPM is ~0.1% of the federal government, this suggests that ~$100M/yr is wasted on unused lines,” DOGE said.
Unused phone lines!
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) May 21, 2025
Of the 1048 @USOPM phone lines, 198 (19%) were either unused or duplicated.
OPM cancelled these lines (took 1 hour), resulting in ~$100k/yr in savings.
Since OPM is ~0.1% of the federal government, this suggests that ~$100M/yr is wasted on unused lines.
DOGE head Elon Musk has been a vocal critic of wasteful government spending on things like unneeded phone lines and software subscriptions that are abandoned once they’ve outlived their usefulness, but are never actually canceled.