DOGE Terminates Nearly 3,000 Government Phones

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Jun 28, 2025 at 3:27 PM EDT | Updated Jun 28, 2025 at 6:25 PM EDT


The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced on Friday that it has significantly expanded its government phone line elimination program, terminating nearly 3,000 devices across multiple agencies. Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Saturday for comment.

Why It Matters

DOGE was established by President Donald Trump upon his return to office in collaboration with tech billionaire Elon Musk, with the stated goal of reducing federal government waste and inefficiency. Musk said he had "done enough" and later stepped down in May after serving less than five months as DOGE's leader.

The task force claims to have saved $170 billion overall, with its "wall of receipts" accounting for approximately $71 billion in terminated contracts, grants, and leases. The phone line terminations serve as a testing ground for the task force's approach to cost reduction across federal agencies. If successful, DOGE estimates similar cuts could save the federal government up to $100 million annually when applied across all departments.

However, the effectiveness and scope of these cuts remain subjects of debate among policymakers and government efficiency experts.


Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/doge-terminates-thousands-government-phones-2092060

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Link to tweet

Department of Government Efficiency
@DOGE
·
Follow
Unused phone line update!

@SBAgov has continued its phone audit and has now saved ~$2.84M/year in unnecessary spend.

This includes:
* Traditional Landlines: 96% (661 of 686) terminated, saving ~$650k/year
* Mobile Phone: 55% (2,940 of 5,340) deactivated, saving ~$1.7M/year
* Show more
Department of Government Efficiency
@DOGE
More unused phone lines!

@USGSA saved ~$800k/year by eliminating ~1,700 unused plans, switching plans for many of the remaining ones, and eliminating 2,218 unused cellular equipment payments.

@SBA reduced its VOIP licenses from 9,195 to 2,690, eliminating 6,505
5:37 PM · Jun 27, 2025

[AZProgressive]

1. Are they similar to the phones given out under Obama?

I was impacted by the great recession and was briefly homeless but I remember the "Obama phone" given out was a lifeline to help me get out from that situation. It helps to have a number where people can reach you and I was able to get housing & eventually got diagnosed with a service connected disability with the VA and no longer need subsidies for housing or government phones.

I read that JD Vance bashed them in his book but I never read it. I don't need a book to learn what it was like to be poor after Bush's recession because I lived it.

Sorry if the story is unrelated to the phones issued by the Obama administration.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. No these are phones issued to federal employees

I know in the latter part of my fed career before retiring, as a Supervisor, my boss issued a Blackberry to me (that I didn't want but I had no choice ). A few years later I was given an updated one.

There were times when I had 3 conference calls scheduled and going at the same time - one streaming on my laptop running WebEx, one audio call on my desk phone, and a 3rd audio call on my Blackberry.

[slightlv]

16. I was issued one, as well, so that I could code, check, and edit the GUI if need be

to our remote learning students. My job became much easier once I had one of those little suckers in my hands... although, to be fair, I WAS checking it out on my own phone before I got the issued device. These suckers have wormed their way into so much of our lives, that trying to work around them is almost an impossibility these days. If I hadn't been able to do this part of my job, my students, especially those taking remote classes while in Afghanistan or elsewhere would really be in trouble.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. The one thing I did appreciate with respect to the "Crackberry"

( ) was the little built-in keyboard. MUCH better than on-screen ones as it had the perfect "tactile feel".

I remember when iPhones then came out and some people in my agency were whining and begging to be allowed to get iPhones instead. There was a lot of resistance to that but eventually those were tested and finally authorized.

[wyn borkins]

4. Thank you (AZProgressive) For This(Your) Discussional

I sincerely appreciate personal (human) stories.

Thank you most kindly for sharing.

[BoRaGard]

3. "Don't call. Don't bother us. Shut up, sit down, and be good little proles." - G.O.P. Elite KristoBros, inc.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Might as well eliminate all phones from the agencies that are now so understaffed that they can't assist anyone.

[travelingthrulife]

6. Oh wow. Big savings. The rubes are convinced these boys are saving trillions in dollars.

When you tell them all of this will have to be re-built at great cost, they tune you out.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. If "penny wise, pound foolish" ever needed an illustration, this is it.

They're trying to nickel and dime the everyday operations of gov't, while giving away trillion$$$$ collected from middle- and lower-income Americans to the top multigazillionaires.

[turbinetree]

7. SO if there is a attack...................send all messages by carrier pigeon...........oh yeah they are extinct........

[BumRushDaShow]

9. I expect ditching all of the agency COOP plans

COOP (Continuity Of Operations) will be next!

[turbinetree]

10. I agree............just the continue taking down of the system in place to appease .................

[Hekate]

11. Going blind. Gee, by eliminating landlines they'll "save" $650,000 per year.

Landlines, mobile phones, and all other means of communication — I can see the remaining workers sitting in their little cubicles …

Last one out, turn off the lights.

[Mr. Mustard 2023]

12. This in and of itself may be okay, but I don't trust Maga in any way.

I always assume any action they take increases their power in some way.

[Shipwack]

15. Agree 100% , though....

I don’t trust DOGE about this not because I believe there’s malice (though I don’t discount it), but because of the rank incompetence they’ve exhibited so far in their cuts and their inflated claims.

As someone said upthread, “penny wise and pound fooolish”. Maybe there are phones that are rarely used, but are still needed. For instance, a remote forestry worker that might need to make an emergency call due to an injury. As for landlines, while at the surface they might look redundant, but perhaps they are in offices that are so vital that you MUST have a backup in case the cellular service goes out.

[WestMichRad]

13. "If we can't fire them..."

“… let’s cripple their ability to work effectively.”

[SupportSanity]

14. Make America More Difficult. Opaque is the new Transparent.

Now, you won't be able to call to find out anything.

You'll have to go to the following government website:

NOBODY-HOME.GOV