The Navy Secretary this week said the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative has helped the Navy save hundreds of millions of dollars by canceling various contracts.
“We’ve embraced the DOGE agency to come in to help us figure out processes and things that we’re doing that don’t make sense, figuring out contracting things that we’re doing that don’t make sense, figuring out IT (Information Technology) systems that are built on legacy platforms that end up not talking to one another, figuring our systems that we just do because someone in a room has decided let’s not change it,” John Phelan said Monday in Washington, D.C., during the Special Competitive Studies Project’s AI+Expo.
He said the Navy saved $1 billion number as a “gross” savings amount while the “net” savings is closer to $500 million.
Phelan added that in about three weeks DOGE has helped them cancel redundant IT contracts and consulting contracts that did not lead to clear savings.
“My message to consultants who want to come in, great – a large part of your pay is going to be what you save us; it’s not going to be just we pay you and you come in and do this. Show me meaningful savings and I’ll let you make more money. But it’s got to be tied to results.”
Phelan said the Navy overall does not do a good enough job linking work to outcomes and results, particularly in contracting, across shipbuilding, IT, and consulting generally.
“I look forward to the next round of working with them to see what they come up with next and we’re trying to remove a number of things that don’t make sense that we just seem to do.”
In April, Phelan announced the cancellation of nearly $300 million in DOGE-identified IT contracts plus grants and awards for “non-essential activities” (Defense Daily, April 25).