The Department of Government Efficiency says it has cut $165 billion of wasteful spending from the federal government, based on its self-reported numbers. It’s a laudable accomplishment that Elon Musk says will save each taxpayer $1,025.

In reality, taxpayers are unlikely to see even one penny this year because President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget request asks Congress for $1.6 trillion in base discretionary spending, the same amount Congress approved in 2024 and 2025.

The government is currently funded by a continuing resolution that is mostly identical to the 2024 budget and keeps the $1.6 trillion topline. If Congress passes Trump’s budget request without significant changes, it will be the third consecutive year that the discretionary budget remains largely unchanged.

Trump’s 2026 request includes $163 billion of cuts to several federal programs, but it also increases defense spending by $119.3 billion and allocates more money to border security.

All funding power ultimately lies with Congress, which may increase the defense budget by even more than Trump requested. The House and Senate have already approved Republican-led resolutions that would increase defense spending by $150 billion.

It’s a matter of opinion whether money should be spent on defense or on other initiatives such as foreign aid. But until total outlays decrease, the U.S. will continue to push the issue of the growing national debt onto future generations, and taxpayers will never see the financial benefits of reduced government spending.

The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that the $36.2 trillion federal debt “will grow far beyond any previously recorded level over the next 30 years” if current laws remain unchanged. The government will borrow an estimated $1.9 trillion this year, with more borrowing necessary in 2026 if Congress passes another unbalanced budget.

The government has not balanced its budget since 2001, with Republicans and Democrats taking turns occupying the White House in those years.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that it’s realistic for Congress to cut over $2 trillion from the federal budget by reducing discretionary spending and reforming Medicaid.

“The mistake people are making is they’re looking at programs that spend tens, hundreds of billions of dollars, ‘We can’t touch that, can’t touch that, can’t touch that,’” Johnson said. “I would go through 2,400 lines and go, ‘Justify spending.’” Taxpayer savings come when the government reduces its overall spending, not when lawmakers simply reallocate funding to other departments. DOGE will never accomplish its goal of balancing the budget until Congress and the president commit to large-scale spending cuts.

(The #WasteOfTheDay is from forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com via RealClearWire.)