The move is part of an initiative by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk, was founded after President Donald Trump took office in January.
Its mission has been to reduce the “bloated” size of the federal government, and steps have already been taken toward that end, including mass layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.
Credit cards belonging to government officials from 30 different agencies are being cancelled.
DOGE’s credit card suspension aims to save money and limit government spending.
It also emphasized that the credit cards being removed were either no longer in use or “unneeded,” according to a Tuesday post on X.
“Credit card update! “The program to audit unused/unneeded credit cards has been expanded to 30 agencies,” it stated.
“After 7 weeks, approximately 470k cards were deactivated. At the start of the audit, there were approximately 4.6 million active cards/accounts, so there is still work to be done.
The April card cancellations come shortly after the suspension of 200,000 across 16 agencies last month.
COSTLY CARDS
DOGE reported that the 4.6 million that were operational when the Trump administration took office would account for approximately $40 billion in government spending in 2024.
According to Newsweek, some of the cuts have had unintended consequences.
For example, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was involved in some credit card deactivations last month.
The TSA used the cards to make purchases to support bomb-sniffing dog units at airports.
Still, a TSA spokesperson told the publication that, while credit cards were restricted for 30 days, “canine operations have not been adversely affected by this effort.”
Musk also described the number of active credit cards used by federal officials as “crazy” in a post on X earlier this month.
“Twice as many credit cards are issued and active than the total number of government employees!” he stated!
DOGE has also promised to continue the credit card reduction program, which will eventually include more government agencies.
EXPERT’S THOUGHTS
Some government agencies use credit cards for quick and necessary actions, according to finance expert Michael Ryan, founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com.
“These aren’t your typical consumer credit cards,” he informed Newsweek.
“We’re looking at lifelines for federal agencies — cards that keep the lights on, quite literally.”
“Need to book a last-minute flight for an important meeting? There is a card for that. Emergency maintenance component for a military vehicle? “Yep, another card,” Ryan said.
“Office supplies for a research lab working on a potentially world-changing project? You guessed it—another card.
Some Americans anticipate receiving $5,000 “dividend” stimulus checks from DOGE soon.
DOGE also recently uncovered an underground mine containing 22,000 cabinets stuffed with government documents.
