The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency released surprising findings on Sunday that the Biden-Harris administration had awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts to an unexpected group: children.
An agency announcement revealed that the Small Business Administration disbursed $312 million in payments to companies whose purported owners are under the age of 11. This disclosure comes as DOGE works to identify inefficiencies and improve federal spending.
“While it is possible to have business arrangements where this is legal, that is unlikely for these 5,593 loans, as they all also used an SSN with the incorrect name,” the agency wrote. “@DOGE and @SBAgov are working together to resolve this issue this week.”
During the announcement, DOGE also disclosed that an additional $333 million was distributed in 3,095 loans between 2021 and 2022 to businesses owned by individuals aged 115 or older.
In one case highlighted by Fox News, a 157-year-old business owner received a total of $36,000 in grants, including funds from the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan, which were designed to help businesses manage challenges caused by shutdowns.
In cases involving businesses allegedly owned by children, Biden administrators approved nearly 5,600 such loans between 2020 and 2021—almost all of which were forgiven without repayment after the owners pledged to use the funds to avoid staff layoffs.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk, President Donald Trump’s advisor on cost-saving initiatives, met with House Republicans last Wednesday to discuss his aim of eliminating $1 trillion in government inefficiencies, according to sources. Several GOP members have voiced concerns about the pace and accuracy of some of these changes when addressing concerns from constituents at local town halls, though some lawmakers have speculated that many ‘protestors’ may not be actual constituents but hired actors.
Amid growing pressure from his party to limit spending reductions, Trump appeared to reduce Musk’s influence last week by directing his Cabinet members to use their discretion in managing their departments, guided by recommendations from Musk and DOGE. In response, Musk has intensified his efforts to justify the need for reorganizations and contract adjustments while quickly rehiring employees who were later considered essential.
Now in its seventh week of investigation, DOGE has uncovered additional politically connected contracts linked to the Biden administration. One former member of the previous president’s transition team was connected to a nonprofit that secured over half a billion dollars in government grants to operate a Texas facility for migrants—a facility that was never utilized.
According to DOGE, the organization reported no other sources of revenue on its application.
All said, however, Americans’ trust in DOGE remains strong: Recent polls show that 72% support its mission, and Trump has even suggested that “DOGE dividends” could be returned to taxpayers as checks from the resulting savings.
The Trump administration recently secured a significant legal win when U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts sided with DOGE last week regarding its freeze on $2 billion in payments to contractors for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Officials have maintained that while they intend to complete the payments, they are currently reviewing for any inefficiencies.
Last week, officials with the administration said the president may consider legal action against USAID staffers following a significant investigation by DOGE that uncovered serious issues within foreign aid programs.
On Wednesday, Pete Marocco, USAID’s deputy administrator-designate, briefed members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the ongoing review of the agency’s spending and operations, conducted under Trump’s directive.
The Capitol Hill meeting sought to provide lawmakers with an update on the review of foreign aid policies implemented under Trump. During discussions, Marocco suggested that the ongoing investigation—which has been shaped by findings from Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative—could lead to referrals for legal action related to misconduct at USAID.
“Apparently, there’s still legal progress that has even come out as late as this morning,” Rep. Keith Self, (R-TX), who attended the meeting, told DailyMail in an interview. “They intend to refer USAID officials to DOJ,” he added, emphasizing that fraud “is a serious issue.”
