What the auditors found after DOGE: 108-minute callbacks at Social Security, a 27 percent cut to IRS enforcement staff, and savings claims that followed DOGE's own method 27.5 percent of the time

What happened

In fiscal 2025, people who called Social Security's national 800 number and accepted a callback waited an average of 108.6 minutes for the agency to call them back, according to the audit the Social Security Administration's own inspector general published on December 22, 2025 [1]. Callers abandoned 21.3 million calls that year, a figure that includes people who hung up on hold, callbacks that went unanswered after three attempts, and callbacks the agency cancelled at the end of the day without making them [1]. The average callback wait was about 1 hour 49 minutes in October 2024, peaked at 2 hours 32 minutes in January 2025 and fell to about 1 hour 2 minutes by September 2025 [1].

The same day, the agency's press office headlined the audit as confirmation of "Significant Customer Service Improvements," citing an average wait that fell "from 30 minutes in January 2025 to 7 minutes in September 2025" and 65 percent more calls answered than the year before [2]. Both statements rest on the same report. The agency's public metric, average speed of answer, counts a caller who requests a callback as having waited zero minutes, and it excludes the roughly 25 percent of calls that ended without service [1][11]. The inspector general found the agency's published numbers accurate as defined; it also published the waits those numbers leave out [1].

At the Internal Revenue Service, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported in August 2026 that examination and collection staff, the people who audit returns and collect unpaid tax, fell from 27,217 at the end of fiscal 2024 to 19,612 at the end of fiscal 2025, a 27 percent reduction, and to 17,517 by January 10, 2026 [4]. Across the whole agency, the National Taxpayer Advocate reported in June 2025 that the IRS workforce had gone from about 102,000 employees in January to fewer than 76,000 by June, with 27 percent of information-technology staff and about 22 percent of taxpayer-services staff gone [5].

On the savings side, the Government Accountability Office examined the DOGE "Wall of Receipts" and reported on August 6, 2026 that DOGE had claimed more than $61 billion in savings from 13,476 contracts it listed as terminated, and that DOGE followed its own stated method for calculating savings on 7,710 of those contracts, representing 27.5 percent, or $16.8 billion, of the claimed amount [6]. For 3,910 contracts carrying 60.7 percent of the claimed savings, GAO found DOGE either used a different calculation or GAO could not determine what method was used [6]. In one example, DOGE listed $1.7 billion in savings on a Defense Health Agency information-technology contract serving more than 700 military treatment facilities; GAO found no action had been taken to terminate the contract or reduce its scope, value or funding, so no savings were achieved [6].

A separate GAO review, published April 28, 2026, found that one Treasury DOGE team employee had access to view, copy and print data in three Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment systems in January and February 2025, was inadvertently granted temporary authority to create, modify and delete data in one of them, and "did not encrypt payment information sent to another agency DOGE team or obtain approval to share this information prior to sending it" [7]. GAO found no evidence that system data was changed and made six recommendations, all open as of publication; the bureau agreed with three [7].

By November 24, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management's director, Scott Kupor, told Reuters that DOGE "doesn't exist" as a centralized organization, while posting that its principles "remain alive and well" [8]. Pew Research Center's analysis of OPM data found the federal civilian workforce fell from 2,312,301 in December 2024 to 2,074,649 in December 2025, a 10.3 percent decline of nearly 238,000 people; the Social Security Administration went from 57,952 employees to 50,718, down 12.5 percent [9].

Why it matters

Every number in this story comes from a government auditor or the government's own payroll data, not from an advocacy group. The Social Security figures reach every reader over 60 regardless of party: the agency said waits fell to 7 minutes, and the inspector general confirmed that number while reporting that the typical caller who asked for a callback waited closer to two hours in the winter of 2025 and about an hour by the fall [1][2]. The IRS figures matter to anyone who pays taxes on a W-2: the staff that fell by 27 percent are the ones who collect from people who do not [4].

The DOGE savings figures matter because they were the public justification for the cuts. GAO did not find that no savings occurred; it found that for nearly three-quarters of the claimed contract savings, DOGE did not use the method it told the public it was using, or GAO could not tell what method it used [6]. The organization that made the claims did not respond to GAO and, by the personnel director's own account, no longer exists in centralized form [6][8].

The evidence

• Social Security inspector general, audit 032517, December 22, 2025: average callback wait 108.6 minutes in fiscal 2025; 21.3 million abandoned calls; callback waits of 1:49 (October 2024), 2:32 (January 2025) and 1:02 (September 2025); the agency's metric counts callback requests as zero wait [1].
• Social Security press release, December 22, 2025: average wait "from 30 minutes in January 2025 to 7 minutes in September 2025"; 65 percent more calls answered; no mention of callbacks [2].
• Federal News Network, June 10, 2026: SSA workforce about 50,000, "its lowest headcount in decades"; 7,000 cut through separation incentives in 2025; more than 2,000 employees reassigned from field offices and claims processing to the 800 number [3].
• TIGTA report 2026-3S0-045, August 2026: examination and collection staff 27,217 (FY2024), 19,612 (FY2025), 17,517 (January 10, 2026); enforcement revenue reached a record $98.7 billion in FY2025, before the staffing losses took full effect [4].
• National Taxpayer Advocate mid-year report, as reported June 25, 2025: IRS workforce from 102,000 to fewer than 76,000 between January and June 2025 [5].
• GAO-26-108615, August 6, 2026: $61 billion claimed from 13,476 contracts; stated method followed for 27.5 percent ($16.8 billion); $1.7 billion claimed on a contract that was never cut; DOGE did not respond [6].
• GAO-26-108131, April 28, 2026: unencrypted payment information sent outside the Bureau of the Fiscal Service without approval; six open recommendations [7].
• Pew Research Center, March 13, 2026: federal workforce down 10.3 percent in 2025; SSA down 12.5 percent; internal revenue agents down 3,141, revenue officers down 1,030, tax examiners down 4,309 [9].

Response and counterpoints

Commissioner Bisignano said the inspector general's findings "come as no surprise to anyone following the historic progress we are making at the agency under President Trump's leadership," and that "partisan politicians are attempting to undermine trust of SSA" [2]. In June 2026 he told the House Ways and Means Committee that the agency is seeing its "best all-around performance ever," that 800-number waits had fallen 89 percent, from 42 minutes to under 5, and that "you can't just throw people at problems in this day and age" [3]. Republican members of the subcommittee described a "dramatic turnaround" [3].

The inspector general's finding that the agency's published metrics were accurate is real and should be read in full: the audit confirmed the agency's numbers and, in the same document, reported the callback waits, abandoned calls and busy signals those numbers exclude [1][11]. The two accounts are not in conflict about the data; they differ over which measure describes a caller's experience.

OPM framed the workforce reduction as "a government that is lean, efficient, and focused on core priorities," and reported that the hiring freeze cut monthly new hires from nearly 23,000 to 7,385 [10]. The U.S. DOGE Service did not comment on GAO's savings report and did not respond to GAO's requests for interviews [6].

What remains uncertain

The 108.6-minute callback figure is a fiscal-year average; by September 2025 it was about 62 minutes, and the agency has since stopped publishing callback waits, so the current figure is not public [1][11]. Social Security reassigned more than 2,000 field-office and claims employees to the phones; what that did to claims processing and in-person waits is not measured in the telephone audit [3]. TIGTA's enforcement-revenue figure peaked in fiscal 2025 on cases opened earlier; the revenue effect of the staffing loss will show up in later years and has not yet been audited [4]. GAO's 27.5 percent figure describes whether DOGE followed its own stated method, not the total savings that actually occurred; GAO found some real deobligations ($77.8 million in a sample of 21 contracts) alongside claims with no action behind them [6]. The federal workforce counts come from OPM payroll data, which lag and are revised [9].

Money and method

Entities and measures: Social Security national 800-number performance, fiscal 2025, as audited by the agency's inspector general (callback wait, abandoned calls, average speed of answer as defined by the agency) [1]. IRS examination and collection staffing, fiscal 2024 through January 10, 2026, from IRS management figures compiled by TIGTA [4]. DOGE contract-savings claims as of July 7, 2026, from the Wall of Receipts as analyzed by GAO against Federal Procurement Data System records [6]. Federal headcounts from OPM payroll data as compiled by OPM and Pew [9][10]. Numbers that measure different things are not added here: DOGE's claimed savings, the cost of the workforce reduction and future uncollected tax revenue are each reported with their own source and are not netted. Modeled revenue losses built on a hypothetical 50 percent IRS cut are not used because that assumption does not match the cut TIGTA recorded [4]. This site's earlier story on DOGE's listing errors and the January 2026 court filing on Social Security data is separate; this one is limited to what auditors published afterward [6][7].

Sources cited

1. [1]
   The Social Security Administration's Telephone Metrics (Audit Report 032517) — Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, 2025-12-22.

   supports · Results of Review: 'In FY 2025, callers waited an average 108.6 minutes to receive a callback from an SSA employee'; 'In FY 2025, callers abandoned 21.3 million calls'; callback time 1 hour 49 minutes (Oct 2024), 2 hours 32 minutes (Jan 2025), 1 hour 2 minutes (Sept 2025); two ways SSA counts a callback as abandoned; data found accurate and reliable · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-01
2. [2]
   Inspector General Report Confirms Significant Customer Service Improvements at Social Security — Social Security Administration, Press Office, 2025-12-22.

   supports · Release title and first paragraphs: average wait 'from 30 minutes in January 2025 to 7 minutes in September 2025'; 'Sixty-five percent more calls in FY 2025'; Commissioner Bisignano quotes ('comes as no surprise', 'partisan politicians'); no mention of callbacks · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-02
3. [3]
   Social Security chief touts customer service metrics after getting 'right amount of staff in the right places' — Federal News Network, 2026-06-10.

   supports · Paragraphs on the December inspector general report (over 100 minutes with callback; 15 minutes without); 'SSA currently has a workforce of about 50,000 employees, its lowest headcount in decades'; 'SSA cut 7,000 employees from its workforce last year'; 'reassigned over 2,000 employees to staff its national 1-800 number'; Bisignano quotes ('right amount of staff in the right places', 42 minutes to under 5 minutes) · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-03
4. [4]
   Trends in Compliance Activities Through Fiscal Year 2025 (Report 2026-3S0-045) — Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, 2026-08-01.

   supports · Highlights page: 'the IRS lost approximately 27 percent of its Examination and Collection staff from FY 2024 to FY 2025'; Figure 13: Total Examination and Collection Staff 27,217 (FY 2024), 19,612 (FY 2025), 17,517 (January 10, 2026); Figure 1 and text: enforcement revenue $98.7 billion in FY 2025 · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-04
5. [5]
   IRS watchdog warns of tax filing challenges next year, after agency cuts 25% of workforce — Federal News Network, 2025-06-25.

   supports · Paragraphs 1-6: National Taxpayer Advocate mid-year report; 'Between January and June, the IRS cut its workforce from 102,000 employees to fewer than 76,000'; 27 percent of IT staff, 22 percent of taxpayer services staff; 'operational risks' for the 2026 filing season · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-05
6. [6]
   DOGE Wall of Receipts: More Transparency Needed on How Savings Are Derived from Contract, Grant, and Lease Terminations (GAO-26-108615) — U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2026-08-06.

   supports · Full report: 'As of July 7, 2026, DOGE reported more than $61 billion in savings associated with 13,476 contracts that it reported as terminated'; 'DOGE followed its stated methodology for 7,710 contracts associated with 27.5 percent, or $16.8 billion, of the reported savings'; 3,910 contracts and 60.7 percent used other calculations or undeterminable method; $1.7 billion Defense Health Agency contract example with no savings achieved; USDS did not respond to GAO · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-06
7. [7]
   Department of Government Efficiency: Treasury Needs to Fully Implement Data Protection Controls (GAO-26-108131) — U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2026-04-28.

   supports · Fast Facts and findings: one Treasury DOGE team employee had access to three Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment systems January-February 2025; 'an employee did not encrypt payment information sent to another agency DOGE team or obtain approval to share this information prior to sending it'; inadvertent create/modify/delete access with no evidence of changes; six open recommendations; BFS agreed with three · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-07
8. [8]
   DOGE no longer has 'centralized leadership' under White House tech team, personnel head says — Nextgov/FCW, 2025-11-24.

   supports · Paragraphs 1-8: OPM Director Scott Kupor told Reuters DOGE 'doesn't exist'; posted on X that DOGE has no 'centralized leadership' while its principles 'remain alive and well'; one or two people left in the temporary organization; about 50 at USDS · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-08
9. [9]
   Federal workforce shrank 10% in Trump's first year back in office — Pew Research Center, 2026-03-13.

   supports · Table and text: federal workforce 2,312,301 (December 2024) to 2,074,649 (December 2025), down 10.3 percent or nearly 238,000; Social Security Administration 57,952 to 50,718 (-12.5 percent); tax professional occupations: internal revenue agents -3,141, revenue officers -1,030, tax examiners -4,309 · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-09
10. [10]
    New Data Shows Trump Administration's Progress in Right-Sizing the Federal Bureaucracy — U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2025-07-01.

    context · Release of July 1, 2025: federal civilian employment 2,313,216 (Sept 30, 2024) to 2,289,472 (March 31, 2025); monthly new hires from nearly 23,000 to 7,385; Acting Director Ezell quotes ('lean, efficient, and focused on core priorities'; 'only the beginning') · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-10
11. [11]
    SSA phone wait times longer than publicly reported metrics, per OIG report — Nextgov/FCW, 2025-12-22.

    supports · Paragraphs on the methodology: callers who request a callback counted as zero wait; callers who stayed on hold averaged 59 minutes; 3 percent busy signal; 25 percent of calls, 21.3 million, reported as abandoned; abandonment after 22 to 38 minutes; SSA no longer publishes callback wait publicly · checked 2026-10-26 · source N-doge-services-11